Thane Police sources said three accused, who are purportedly sadhus (ascetics) of a temple, killed the 30-year-old woman and threw her dead body away.
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Shil-Daighar police in Thane arrested three persons for sexually assaulting and killing a 30-year-old woman. Police sources said the three accused, who are purportedly sadhus (ascetics) of a temple in the area, killed the 30-year-old woman and threw her dead body in the hilly area near the temple to ensure her body would not be discovered.
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The deceased, identified as Akshata Mhatre, a Belapur resident, had left her home after a fight with her husband. When she did not return, her husband set out to look for her and first went to her parents' home in Koparkhairane. When he could not trace her, on June 6, he filed a missing person's complaint.
A few days later, a doctor who was visiting the Ghol Ganapati temple near Kalyan shilphata found her body and alerted the cops. Further probe revealed that Mhatre had gone to the temple alone on June 6 when the sadhus found her.
We suspect the three ascetics tried to sexually assault her but she resisted and thus they killed her, said a police official and added that the incident happened when the head ascetic was on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya and had left the temple in the care of the three accused.
Mhatre was one of the frequent visitors of the temple, however, seeing her alone, the accused might have tried to make a move, the official suggested.
The police found CCTV footage of Mhatre entering the temple but not of her leaving which led them to suspect that one of the residents might have killed her.
"After gathering technical details and evidence from the spot, we arrested the sadhus, aged 62, 54, and 28. They were presented before a court, where they were remanded to police custody until July 16. The police suspect that Mhatre was killed after she retaliated against her attackers when they tried to abuse her," said a police officer.
The police plan to interrogate suspects further during their custody to gain clarity over the motive of the murder and to ascertain whether there were any other accessories to the murder.
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