Second accused was found within 24 hours and the main accused within 48 hours; both sent to police custody till January 4
Police and fire brigade teams search the crime scene. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Even detective Sherlock Holmes (a fictional private detective) would have found the case a bit challenging, as the accused was never really the one the parents of the victim had named as the main suspect. The case pertains to the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl on the evening of December 23 in Kalyan.
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The Kolsewadi police used both technical and human intelligence to nail down the real suspects and crack the case, first arresting a woman (believed to be the third wife of the key accused) within less than 24 hours and subsequently zeroing in on the main accused within 48 hours of the crime.
Auto rickshaw allegedly used to transport body. Pics/Nimesh Dave
On Thursday, the actual accused—Vishal Gawli, 28, and Sakshi, 23—were produced before the special POCSO court in Kalyan as their first remand came to an end. The court has extended the police remand of the accused until January 4.
Bloodstain-clinching clue
Investigating officer Inspector Ganesh Nhayade and his team found crucial pieces of evidence, including bloodstains on the mat in the auto rickshaw (MH 0500 8261—currently in police custody) that was allegedly used to transport the body of the minor girl to an isolated spot in Bapgaon, in Padgha police jurisdiction limit, where the body was dumped.
Police said that the evidence has been sent for forensic analysis to verify if the blood is of the victim. The police also recovered the shirt that the accused wore on the day of incident and also the CCTV footage of the accused from strategic points, including mobile tower locations.
Missing trolley bag and mobile phone
Police said they have roped in the Kalyan fire brigade to search for the trolley bag which the accused confessed to having thrown it in a creek near Kalyan.
“Accused Vishal drove the auto rickshaw, while Sakshi sat on the passenger seat with the trolley bag. The bloodstain on the mat is believed to be from the trolley bag,” say the police, who prima facie are in the process of recreating the scene of the crime.
“Attempts made to locate the trolley bag and mobile phone have not yielded any results so far. The firemen, along with our police team, have carried out searches in and around the creek area but have not made any headway,” said Inspector Nhayade.
Crucial CCTV footage
The police said to have found that after dumping the body, Gawli and Sakshi, en route their way to their home in Kalyan, had stopped the auto rickshaw near a bar, where he bought liquor and a water bottle. CCTV footage captured Gawli, who was seen at the cash counter.
The crime
On the evening of December 23, the victim had left her house a little after 4 pm, but never returned home. “A little past 1.30 am (wee hours of December 24), the parents visited the police station and registered an FIR (kidnapping of a minor) and named the suspect. A police team visited the locality to carry out a preliminary probe but could not make any headway,” said the investigating officer.
“No one in the vicinity had any doubt about the accused (Gawli), rather, the parents of the victim had named a relative of their neighbour, whom they suspected to have abducted their daughter, as he had a year ago, on the same day (December 23, 2023), threatened to teach them a lesson after an altercation,” recalled investigating officer inspector Nhayade.
Lied to auto owner
Gawli, by evening, had sexually assaulted and hacked the minor girl to death by strangling. Later, he convinced Sakshi to help him to dispose of the body. Gawli also lied to his neighbour, before borrowing his auto rickshaw for transporting the blood-stained body and passed through the crime scene a little past 9 pm and returned home two hours later, when the parents were still seen searching for their daughter, the police said.
What’s next?
The final post-mortem report is awaited. Meanwhile, the autopsy surgeon has given the provisional reason for death as “asphyxia due to compression of mouth and neck,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 3, Atul Zende.
“The police have to make a watertight charge sheet within 30 days and are leaving no stone unturned to record statements of people who are directly or indirectly linked to the case. Also, with no direct eyewitness to the crime, the police so far have collected sufficient circumstantial evidence, backed with technical evidence including the mobile locations of the accused. They are now awaiting forensic and other scientific evidence to further prove the case,” said the DCP.
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