Man hides woman’s body in bathroom loft for four months, held
The accused had hidden the body is the bathroom of their rented flat and cemented it to avoid foul smell. In order to avoid suspicion, Harmalkar allegedly went to the flat every morning and stayed till noon.
Boisar MIDC police on Thursday arrested Suraj Harmalkar, 24, a contract driver and resident of Vrindavan building in Vangaon, for allegedly murdering Amita, 26, on October 21, 2020. He had hidden the body is the bathroom of their rented flat and cemented it to avoid foul smell. In order to avoid suspicion, Harmalkar allegedly went to the flat every morning and stayed till noon.
The accused and the victim have been in a relationship for the past four years and the accused allegedly used to pester Amita to marry him. Harmalkar had married earlier but is estranged from his wife, said senior inspector Pradip Kasbe of Boisar MIDC police station.
According to the police, Harmalkar rented the flat in October and invited Amita to the flat and strangled her to death on October 21. Then he bought cement, mortar, anti-leakage glue and dumped the body in the bathroom loft and sealed it.
He continued to pay rent to the landlord. He also took Amita’s phone and replied to messages from her family and friends posing as her. He allegedly sent messages to them that the victim was at Vapi and that they had gotten married, but he never received any phone calls, said Kasbe.
The incident came to light when the victim’s brother saw Harmalkar in Boisar on Tuesday but Harmalkar fled from the spot. Following this, the brother approached the police saying that he saw Harmarkal in Boisar whereas he was allegedly in Vapi. He further said that he had not been able to talk to his sister since the past four months. Following his complaint, the police started a search for the accused.
Later, the police were informed that the accused was seen near a petrol pump in Boisar, following which they tracked his location and nabbed him. While questioning, Harmalkar confessed to the crime.
“We then informed Dahanu Tehsildar and exhumed the body and seized the skeletal remains of the victim in his presence. We sent these for DNA analysis and the post mortem report is awaited,” said Kasbe.
Harmalkar was arrested under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced before the Dahanu court on Friday and has been remanded in police custody for five days, said Kasbe.