Virar bank murder a pre-planned crime: Charge sheet

Accused Anil Dubey and (right) Yogita Chaudhary, the banker whom he murdered. Pics/Hanif Patel

Nearly 75 days after a deputy manager with ICICI Bank's Virar East branch was killed and a cashier grievously injured allegedly by a former manager who tried to rob valuables worth '3.38 crore, the police have filed a charge sheet, calling it a "pre-planned murder". The 1,400-page charge sheet into the chilling crime of July 29 was filed on October 12. Accused Anil Dubey had entered the Manvelpada branch after work hours to meet his former colleague Yogita Chaudhary on the pretext of discussing a job switch.

While Dubey stabbed Chaudhary to death, her colleague Shraddha Devrukhkar triggered the bank's alarm system and followed him despite sustaining life-threatening injuries. Dubey was caught by locals. Investigation officer Anil Dabade, the in-charge of Virar police station, has collected several pieces of evidence to file the charge sheet, said sources. The statement of star witness Devrukhkar will play a vital role in fetching Dubey's conviction, said a senior officer privy to the investigation.

mid-day has published most of the crucial observations in the charge sheet, which has also taken the accounts of two more witnesses who saw Dubey rushing out of the bank after the 13 minutes of horror inside the bank where the security guard was not present. "The CCTV footage, his [Dubey's] mobile tower locations, the seizure of his car used in the crime, statements of eyewitnesses, weapons used in the murder and attempt to murder, the forensic pieces of evidence as well as identification parade of the accused will help us secure his conviction in the sensitive case," said another officer.

Shraddha Devrukhkar who ensured accused was caught

Dubey, now been sacked from the Naigaon branch of Axis bank, had worked in the same branch of ICICI bank until August 2020. He was neck-deep in loans and was desperate to pay them off. He hatched a plan to meet Chaudhary inside the branch as he knew only two women staffers stayed put till late evening and there was no security guard. "The call records have been highlighted. We have also included the bank details of the accused in the charge sheet to show that he was buried in loans," said an officer.

As per the charge sheet, Dubey carried weapons which clearly proves his intention to kill both the female workers and then loot the bank but somehow the plan did not work out completely as Devrukhkar, soaked in blood, sounded the hooter and blocked his way. The local eatery owners got alarmed after they saw an injured woman screaming for help and a man with a backpack carrying steel boxes coming out. They nabbed Dubey, who was heading towards his car parked nearby.

Dubey was thrashed by the public before being handed over to the police. While the cops rushed both bankers to the hospital, Chaudhary had already died due to excessive bleeding. Dubey had repeatedly stabbed her in the neck, hands and her face was beyond recognition.