A 55-year-old woman from Shelgar village in Ulwe was shot dead in broad daylight on Monday.
According to the police, Prabhavati Bhagat, a home maker, along with her husband Balkrishna (62) was on their way to buy a sari for her when they stopped at Bank of Maharashtra in Sector 19, Ulwe, around 2.15 p.m.. While Mr. Bhagat was inside the bank, his wife was waiting in their car parked outside with the AC on when a man got into the driver’s seat and drove away.
Mr. Bhagat, a retired employee from Mazgaon Docks, after realising that someone had abducted his wife, called up his son.
Meanwhile, the NRI Coastal police got information about an abandoned car, with a body inside, near Tejas building in Sector 23. Around 3 p.m., the police also got to know about the abduction.
“We contacted Mr. Bhagat and asked him to come to the spot. He identified the car and his wife. The spot where the woman’s body was found is around 600 metres from the place from where she was abducted. The jewellery and cash in her possession was safe so robbery doesn’t seem to be the motive behind the murder,” Pankaj Dahane, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, said.
Prabhavati was taken to Apollo Hospital where she was declared brought-dead. The body was then taken to the NMMC hospital in Vashi where a post-mortem was conducted. “The woman had one gun shot on her chest. What weapon was used can be known in further investigations. We are looking for footage of CCTV cameras in the area,” Mr. Dahane said.
A police official who did not wish to be named said the motive behind the crime seemed to be revenge out of an illicit relationship.
Considering the sensitivity of the case, Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar has directed Ashok Dudhe, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone II, and the Crime Branch to investigate the murder. “Officers from both zones and the Crime Branch are jointly probing the case to crack it at the earliest,” Mr. Dudhe said.
