Mumbai: A 32-year-old man allegedly murdered his lover and then killed himself in his Ambarnath residence on Tuesday afternoon. The man also sent a message informing the woman’s family about the murder before taking his own life.
Police officers said the deceased, Netaram Verman and Anchal Mahale (20), were from the same village in Wardha and had known each other for several years. Verman worked in Ambarnath as a labourer, while Mahale was a software professional and worked with a private firm in Thane.
Aunt informed
Mahale’s maternal aunt, who stays in Wardha with the rest of her family, received a WhatsApp message on Monday from Verman, saying that he had murdered Mahale. The message included the address of a house in Kansai village in Ambarnath, where he said her body could be found.
Mahale’s aunt immediately contacted Mahale’s landlord in Diva, who said Mahale hadn’t been seen for around a week. At her aunt’s request, the landlord went to the house in Kansai on Tuesday morning. After repeated knocking on the door elicited no response, and because of the stench coming from the room, the landlord called the Thane Police control room.
Assistant Police Inspector Nandkumar Kenjale of the Ambarnath police station said, “We received a call around 8:15 a.m. and sent a team to Kansai, where Mahale’s landlord was waiting. We broke open the door and found Verman and Mahale’s bodies inside the house. The bodies had started decomposing. Mahale appeared to have been strangled to death.”
The bodies were taken to Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar for examination.
Investigating officers said Verman had rented the house in Kansai as he was working at a construction site in Ambarnath for the last six months. Several of Verman’s neighbours told the police that they had seen him and Mahale celebrating Diwali together and that they seemed to be happy living together.
Married for four years
Verman had been married for four years, and his wife lives with his parents in Wardha.
“Mahale lived with her mother in the rented house in Diva. Her mother wanted her to come to Wardha with her for Diwali, but Mahale said she had some professional commitments and couldn’t go. She left to stay with Verman on the first day of Diwali, and met her landlord on her way out. When he asked where she was going, she told him that she was going to see a doctor,” said inspector Sukhada Narkar, Thane Police spokesperson.
The Ambarnath police have registered an offence of murder under the Indian Penal Code against Verman, and are conducting further inquiries to find the motive for his extreme step.
