Thane: Came for son’s birthday, killed his entire family

The children Khushi and Ankush Bagdi, (left) Bhavna Bagdi (right) had left Amit Bagdi 5 years ago. Pics/Rajesh Gupta and Prasun Choudhari

A man bludgeoned to death his wife and two children by smashing their heads with a cricket bat two days after attending his son's birthday celebration. The triple murder took place in Kasarvadavli on Ghodbunder Road on Thursday morning. The police have launched a manhunt for Amit Dharamveer Bagdi, who has been absconding since the incident. The deceased have been identified as Bhavna, 24, Ankush, 8 and Khushi, 6. Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that Amit killed his wife and kids using his son's cricket bat.

The cricket bat used in the murders

On December 13, Amit Dharamveer Bagdi visited Kasarvadavli village to celebrate his son's birthday, according to his brother Vikas. "He brought the cake for Ankush's birthday on December 13 and was staying with us since three days. On Thursday, I went out for work around 7 am. When I returned around 11.30 am, I saw that Bhavna and the children had been beaten to death using Ankush's cricket bat and Amit wasn't around. I called the police," Vikas told mid-day.

Vikas said that in the three days that Amit stayed over, he never had any argument with Bhavna. "I never felt that Amit would do such a thing or else I would not have allowed him to stay here," he said, adding that Amit had last visited them around seven months back.

"The accused, originally from Khardalipur, Haryana, has fled and we are actively trying to trace him down. He had a history of alcohol addiction and frequently quarrelling with his wife," said an officer from Kasarvadavli police. According to the officer, due to Amit's alcoholism and the daily arguments, Bhavna left him along with their children and started living with his brother Vikas in Kasarvadavli around 5-6 years ago.

Khushi and Ankush Bagdi. Pics/Rajesh Gupta and Prasun Choudhari

"On receiving information, we immediately rushed to the crime scene. Police Inspector Shashikant Rokde of Kasarvadavli police is leading the inquiry. Police teams have been dispatched to various locations and the accused will be arrested soon," Senior PI Sunil Patil of Kasarvadavli police said Vikas, while recollecting the good times spent with the kids and the connection with the murder weapon, said, "The cricket bat belonged to me and I gave it to Ankush and Khushi some years back when they moved in at my place. They had been playing cricket every afternoon with the bat since."

Neighbours Speak

Speaking with mid-day, a neighbour, Kunal Patil said, "It was a routine morning. We did not see Bhavna coming out of the house as she usually does. Thinking that people tend to wake up late in winter, we thought she and the kids might have slept for a longer time. Till the time Vikas came back we had no idea of what had happened and we didn't spot Amit leaving the house either. They were hit on the head and killed instantly as we didn't hear any screams that might have alerted the neighbours."

Bhavna Bagdi

Another neighbour said that the morning was calm and no shouting or fighting was heard. "All we know so far is that the husband was an alcohol addict and that was the reason Bhavna had left him to take refuge with his brother Vikas."

Cop Speak

Amar Singh Jadhav, DCP (Zone 5) told mid-day: "The police personnel and forensic teams from Kasarvadavli police have visited the crime scene. It was found that the husband had used a cricket bat to kill his wife and two children. We are currently conducting a thorough investigation and the accused will be arrested soon." Amit charged him under IPC Section 302 (murder).

11.30 am
Time the bodies were discovered on Thursday