Navi Mumbai: A serving head constable from Navi Mumbai and his three accomplices were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering a 25-year-old man whose partially burnt body was found in a well in Satara district last week.
The accused have been identified as Bapu Bhise, 40, a head constable posted in Navi Mumbai, and Vijay Pawar, 36, Kiran Vikas Gaikwad, 27, and Srinivas Lone, 25, from Sakharwadi in Phaltan taluka and Pune. The victim, Santosh Bobade, 25, was found dead on February 6 in a well near Chopade Vasti in Sukhed village of Khandala taluka. His hands and legs were tied, and the body was partially charred, raising immediate suspicion of foul play, the police said.
Subsequently, the Lonand police registered an accidental death report and later converted it into a murder case. The police then analysed the CCTV footage from nearby areas and roads leading to the village after the farm owner claimed that the well was empty a day before the body was discovered.
“The statement confirmed that the body was dumped during the night. We analysed CCTV footage of vehicular movement in that timeframe and identified a suspicious car,” said a police officer.
Further investigation led the police to Bhise, who was later detained in Kalamboli with the assistance of Navi Mumbai police. During interrogation, Bhise allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming he suspected Bobade of having an affair with his girlfriend. Based on Bhise’s confessions, police arrested the three accomplices.
Police said the victim was called for a meeting in Kalamboli, where Bhise allegedly consumed alcohol before executing the murder. “The deceased was taken to a predetermined location. Three other accused joined them in the car, where he was strangled to death,” the officer said.
The body was then transported to Sukhed village in Satara district. The accused allegedly poured petrol on the body, set it on fire, and dumped it in the well to destroy evidence and conceal the victim’s identity, he added.
A case has been registered at Lonand police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder and destruction of evidence. All four accused were produced before a Khandala magistrate’s court, which remanded them in police custody for seven days.