Chats in which woman broke up with Mira Road ‘killer’ uncovered

Police officers carry utensils containing the remains of the deceased on the night of June 7. Pics/Hanif Patel

You broke my trust and cheated on me. This is the end of our relationship." This message was sent by the Mira Road woman to her husband, who allegedly killed her and then dismembered her body at their flat, via WhatsApp seven days before she died, according to the police.

The cops, who have recovered four mobile phones from the couple's residence, came across this message while going through chat records. On Thursday, the 56-year-old accused was produced in a Thane court, which remanded in judicial custody for 14 days, until July 6.

The Nayanagar police requested his custody for three days as the accused's medical and psychological test reports are awaited from JJ hospital. According to the police, the deceased had knowledge about the accused's health situation based on medicines recovered from the house.

The alleged killer

A police source said, "Since 2014, the couple were living together and they also married in a temple at Vasai. On May 26, the deceased caught the accused chatting with another woman in the house. They had been having heated arguments over his use of dating applications. At night, the accused entered the woman's bedroom and tried to get intimate but she refused to have relations. The woman threw him out of the bedroom and closed the door."

A police officer said, "On May 26-27 the woman sent the accused several messages about ending the relationship and betrayal. These chats are important to prove that the accused's character is bad and due to this, the woman didn't want to live with him and ended the relationship."

Difficult to prove murder occurred: The Nayanagar police are struggling to get all the evidence that proves the deceased woman was murdered. The cops have learnt that buttermilk containing pesticide was served to the woman. They have also recorded the statements of the shopkeepers from where the accused purchased the beverage at Mira Road and bottles at Borivli.

According to the police, while chopping the body initially, the accused used a kitchen knife and was not making much progress. He then took the knife to a shop where it was sharpened. However, it still proved too dull. He then purchased a bigger knife and chainsaw.

The cops are awaiting the DNA report of the deceased woman whose remains were sent to the Kalina Forensic Laboratory. "The body parts found in the house were boiled. It is still not clear whether this will impact the post-mortem report. We don't know if the report will clearly indicate whether the women died due to poisoning or other reasons," a police source told mid-day.

Till now, the police have recovered 13 pieces of evidence from the couple's seventh-floor flat, including two buckets, a tub, two bowls, a pressure cooker, medicines, an electric chainsaw, knives, clothes and the accused's black backpack that was used to dispose of body parts.

The police have also recorded the statements of 25 people. A police source said, "The accused was misleading the cops but we have established that he killed his live-in partner. We also recorded evidence based on his Google search history, chats and six dating applications."

Timeline of the case

May 26-27 The couple had a fight at home after the accused was caught chatting with another woman on a dating app. The accused was also thrown out of the bedroom

May 28-29 The accused looked up deadly pesticides and poison

June 3 After dinner, the accused mixed pesticide in buttermilk and served it to his partner. After the woman died, he clicked a selfie of himself in the nude with her corpse. The same night, the accused Googled how much time a body takes to decompose

June 4 The accused visited the shop where he sharpened his kitchen knife and purchased a big knife

June 4-6 The accused used essential oils to disguise the smell of the decay while chopping the body

June 6 The alleged killer started boiling the lungs, stomach, liver and heart in a pressure cooker

June 7 The Nayanagar police arrest the man after receiving a call from his neighbours about a terrible smell

June 3
Day deceased was allegedly poisoned