Mumbai: The 19-year-old girl Rinki (name changed to protect identity) arrested for allegedly killing her adopted father Bennett Rebello, 59, has been sent to police custody for two days. She was produced before the court on Sunday. Rinki along with her 16-year-old boyfriend are accused of killing Rebello and disposing of his body in the Mithi River in a suitcase.
There could be multiple reasons behind the murder, said a crime branch officer. Rinki accused Rebello of sexually abusing her. She also claimed that Rebello was against her relationship with her 16-year-old boyfriend. Police on Sunday said that the property angle could not be ruled out. According to Rinki, Rebello had told her that she would get his property after his death.
On December 2, Mahim police found a suitcase in the Arabian Sea behind Mahim Dargah with a severed leg and a hand of man and his private parts along with two shirts, two pants and a sweater. The police then registered a murder case and began the investigation.
Crime branch unit 5 also began their investigation in parallel. Police found a label of 'Almo Men’s Wear' on the collar of one of the shirts. The crime branch team immediately rushed to the shop and took all its bill books in their possession. The shop was just outside crime branch unit 5's office in Kurla.
The shop owner, Afroz Shamim Ansari, 43, helped the crime branch identify Rebello with the cloth piece stapled on the bill and the size of the clothes they found from the suitcase. However, the bill book didn't have Rebello's number.
"We then took the help of social media. We searched for Bennet Rebello on Facebook. While searching the profiles of the name, we came across a guitarist and music arranger's profile from Vakola. Searching his profile, we identified a sweater that we found from the suitcase," said Shahaji Umap, DCP crime branch. "When we further searched his profile, we also found a photograph of his visiting card with his mobile number and his address. The card also has a signature that matched that on the bill," added Umap.
The crime branch team then immediately rushed to the address in Kalina. However, the house was locked. From the local residents, the crime branch team learned that Rebello has an adopted girl who stays in Ghatkopar. The team then reached her house. Initially, she said that Rebello had gone to Canada, but her answers were not satisfactory. She and her boyfriend were then taken into custody.
During interrogation, Rinki confessed to killing Rebello. She said, on November 26, the two attacked him with a bamboo and then stabbed him in his back. However, after finding Rebello breathing, the couple then allegedly sprayed a mosquito killer on him.
The two then kept his body in the bathroom for hours. On November 27, they started to dispose off the body. According to the crime branch officer, they took four knives, first made them hot until they become red and then cut his body. They cut his head by the neck and cut both his arms and legs below the knees, and then disposed the body in the Mithi river in three parts.
