Did missing man's wife get him to sign restraining affidavit?

Avdhut Shinde

Sharmila Shinde had sensed her husband Avdhut would kill her in a foreign land, which made her so scared to shift to the Netherlands that she made him sign an affidavit solemnly declaring he won't harm or kill her, her friends and neighbours told mid-day. Meanwhile, mid-day has also obtained a call recording where Avdhut can be heard reassuring Sharmila he won't murder her.

To ensure her safety, Sharmila had consulted her legal counsel, who suggested making Avdhut sign a stamp paper which declared he would not harm or kill her in the Netherlands, her friends told mid-day.

Her friends and neighbours in Pune said Avdhut had threatened to harm Sharmila when she would visit him in the Netherlands because her reunion with her school friends had made him insecure. "Sharmila got scared after she was assaulted by Avdhut, who was overly possessive and insecure. He was also very dominating. So when Avdhut planned to shift Sharmila and kids to Netherlands with him, Sharmila had contacted her friend in Navi Mumbai, who is a lawyer. The lawyer had drafted an affidavit to be undersigned by Avdhut," said the friend.

Also Read: The Dutch mystery: Missing Mumbai man spied on, and hit, his wife

Signed the affidavit

The draft of that affidavit reads: "I, Mr. Avdhut Madhukar Shinde, do hereby solemnly affirm that (a) that my wife Mrs. Sharmila is free to travel to and fro at any places without any interruption from my side; (b) that, I will not create any time of nuisance or harm her in any way and will not give any physical or mental torture. And she can report, if any such action done by me to her; (c) that, our kids can travel to any place only after consent given by their mother Sharmila without any interruption from my side; (d) that, I will not interfere or interrupt for any decisions taken by her about her career or residing place."

An FB post put up by Avdhut Shinde in February this year

The sources told mid-day that Sharmila had made a Rs 100 stamp paper affidavit and asked Avdhut to undersign it. "Avdhut was very adamant on not undersigning the document, but Sharmila told him that she and their children will not board the flight to Amsterdam if he doesn't sign it," said the source.

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"However, after a long, heated argument, Avdhut agreed to undersign it. But he put forth a condition - the undersigned documents will be kept at his father's house in Goregaon East," the source added. Sharmila and the children ended up moving to the Netherlands. She was found dead in the home they shared a week later.

Sharmila Shinde

'I won't do anything like that'

mid-day has also accessed a call record in which Avdhut can be clearly heard telling Sharmila, "I am genuinely trying to improve myself and shift you all to the Netherlands with me…Shammu tereko ek he insecurity hai na ki tereko idher laake maar dalunga…mai tujhe kabse bol rha hu ki aisa nhi karunga… [Shammu, you're insecure about me bringing you here and killing you...I've been telling you for a while I won't do anything like that]." mid-day reached out to Avdhut's father Madhukar remained unavailable for comment.

Also Read: The Dutch mystery: Mumbai man's 'abrupt run' makes him 'prime suspect' for Dutch cops

Sharmila's brother Shashidhar Shetty said, "Something had gone wrong in the last six months between Sharmila and Avdhut." The Shetty family is currently in their hometown in Mangalore, with Sharmila's twin children, to perform her post-funeral rituals.

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