Slain policewoman Ashwini Bidre’s father, Jaykumar Bidre, received a letter from an unidentified person claiming that the wood cutter used in the crime was arranged by a person close to politician Eknath Khadse’s nephew, Rajesh Patil.
Arranging of weapon
Mr. Patil, who is currently in jail, is allegedly close to Prashant Patil from Kolhapur, who is said to have arranged the weapon.
“Prashant is said to have given the weapon to his friend Mr. Patil, who then gave it to the key accused, Abhay Kurundkar,” Mr. Bidre said. The writer has mentioned that a copy of the letter has been given to Kolhapur IG Vishwas Nagre-Patil, Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police and the Home Department.
Absconding for months
The letter mentioned that Prashant has been absconding ever since an FIR was registered in the case. Bidre’s husband, Raji Gore, said, “We also conducted an inquiry at our level and found that his house was locked. We learnt that he has been absconding for many months now. We want the Navi Mumbai police to investigate this issue and nab him.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Tushar Doshi said, “I have received a copy of the letter and we will investigate the claims made in it.”
Unavailable advocate
The Bidre family last month met the new Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar and requested that the police look for new evidence since the body is yet to be recovered. They also requested the appointment of advocate Ujjwal Nikam as special prosecutor in the case to the Home Department.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ajay Kadam replied to Mr. Gore in a letter saying Mr. Nikam was approached, but said he was unavailable.
A missing person’s case regarding assistant police inspector Ashwini Bidre was registered on July 14, 2016, by her brother Anand Bidre. Sections of murder were invoked on February 27 this year. Mr. Patil was arrested on December 10, 2017 after his CDR matched with that of Mr. Kurundkar.
