Mumbai Police register case of accidental death of real estate agent; wife alleges brothers murdered him

Mumbai: A 46-year-old real estate agent died on Saturday evening in the Jogeshwari area during a verbal duel with his two brothers over a property dispute. The wife of the deceased, Sapna, has alleged that the duo killed her husband, however, the preliminary probe by the MIDC police hasn't found evidence corroborating the accusation.

In her police statement, Sapna said there was a bitter quarrel between her husband Ravikumar Maithkuri and his brothers Mahendra and Jitendra over a property dispute case pending in the court. During the scuffle, both the brothers brutally assaulted Ravikumar, resulting in his death, alleged the complainant.

Victim's wife claims her husband was killed by his brothers

“The victim already had a heart attack some years ago. He also had other health-related problems. The brothers claim that they simply pushed him and instead of falling on the sofa, he fell down, after which he died. However, the wife of the deceased claims that they killed her husband, so the matter is still under investigation,” said an official.

Earlier, a case of accidental death was registered in the matter. But after Sapna's allegations, a first information report (FIR) has been filed against Mahendra and Jitendra and their wives under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code, said Senior Police Inspector Satish Gaikwad.

On Sunday, the police took Mahendra and Jitendra into custody for interrogation. The post-mortem report is yet to come. The doctors have keptthe cause of death as ‘reserved’. However, a preliminary probe by the doctors suggested that no strangulation marks or bruises were found on the body.

A video of Sapna and her kids holding the suspects responsible for Ravikumar's death has gone viral on social media.