Body found in sofa in Dombivli: How four alert friends pieced clues together

It was the four close friends of the victim Supriya Shinde who helped find her body and even catch her killer Vishal Ghavat said police The women the deceasedrsquos neighbours at Om Residency in Dombivli East noticed that a lot was amiss at her home on the fateful day particularly the positioning of the sofacumbed in which the body was hiddenSupriyarsquos body was found in the sofacumbed in her house at Om Residency Shiv Shakti Nagar in Dawdi village Dombivli East on Tuesday night The family of three husband Kishor Shinde and their son had moved there four years ago and became friends with many residents who hailed from his hometown in Satara district This friendship played a crucial role in solving Supriyarsquos murderSofa wasnrsquot in its placeOne of them spoke to midday on condition of anonymity and said ldquoWhen Supriya didnrsquot open the door or answer the phone calls I opened the door with a spare key I had at 530 pm No one was at home but I felt something was amiss The bed sheet was wrinkled and her hair clip was clamped to the curtain Even their water drum was moved away from the regular spotrdquoManpada police personnel with the arrested accused Vishal GhavatShe along with three other friends started looking for her ldquoWe went to all the nearby clinics and hospitals thinking she could have gone to see a doctor as she was feeling ill Her relatives who live nearby were also contacted but they hadnrsquot heard from herrdquo said another friendOne of Supriyarsquos neighbours had spotted Ghavatrsquos slippers outside her home in the afternoon and asked him if had visited her He told her that he was there for barely 5 minutesldquoWhile we were registering a missing complaint a neighbour called Kishor to say the dead body had been found inside the sofacumbed in their living room One of her friends had felt that the sofa had been moved and was not closed properlyrdquo said an officer from Manpada police station ldquoOnce the body was found the second clue came from the neighbour who informed us about the slippers and her conversation with Ghavatrdquo he addedldquoDuring questioning first Ghavat refused to accept that he entered the house Then he claimed to have gone there to give her books and had left immediately The said book was found at Supriyarsquos home But his versions were changing hence we brought him to the police stationrdquo the officer saidldquoHe couldnrsquot tell where he was for hours in the afternoon Also there was a fresh wound on his hand indicating a bite mark and he fumbled while explaining how he got itrdquo said Shekhar Bagde senior inspector Manpada police station ldquoAs we grilled him further he broke and confessedrdquolsquoWe sat on the sofa for 2 hrsrsquoOne of Supriyarsquos friends told midday ldquoWe had gone to her flat after hearing that she was missing and sat on that sofa for two hours unaware that her body was stuffed inside I have not slept for the past three nights I am very scaredrdquoAnother friend said ldquoShe was soft spoken and friendly if such a thing could happen to her then anything can happen to other housewives toordquoThe story behind murderGhavat lives in the same locality and Supriya used to visit his building to meet a friend Although she had seen him she never spoke to him Kishor had brought him home a couple of times for teaPolice said that Ghavat thought Supriyarsquos friendly nature was indicative of some kind of a relationship and started making efforts to get close to her He knew Kishor went to Mumbai city for work and didnrsquot return until nightGhavat had found out that the couple idolised Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and liked to read about him so he got some books and visited their residence around 1130 am on Monday but his son was there ldquoGhavat learnt that her son goes to school at 1230 pm so he returned on Tuesday February 15 at 130 pm with the books She invited Ghavat in asked him to sit and turned around to keep the books when he forced himself on herrdquo said Assistant Police Inspector Avinash VanveldquoSupriya resisted with all her might and before she could scream for help Ghavat covered her mouth with his hand She bit him but he didnrsquot give up He smashed her head on the floor and as she was semiconscious he tied her neck with two plastic ties killing herrdquo Vanve addedGhavat first moved around the plastic water drum to dump her body but finally stuffed it inside the sofacumbed He then cleaned the blood and fled with her mobile phoneFeb 15Day Supriya Shinde was murdered