The Bhandup police has spread a dragnet for a couple, accused of abetting the suicide of their friend. Initially, an accidental death report was registered in the case, but the duo was booked after the cops discovered a suicide note and even the wife of the deceased approached them on Tuesday. The accused were identified as Sachin Solanki and Reshma.
In her police statement, the 30-year-old complainant, Pratiksha, said that her husband Dattaguru Koli, 35, was a fisherman and they lived in Alibaug, Raigad district. She said that they came in Sachin's contact in 2021 when one of their community member was admitted to the JJ Hospital where he worked in the postmortem department. Sachin then introduced them to Reshma. Subsequently, Koli and the woman accused initially started talking on phone, but later he made rounds to Mumbai to meet her, said Pratiksha.
“He would disappear for a week or fortnight every month. When I asked him, he told me that he is living with the couple at their residence in Bhandup. Later, my husband (Koli) told me that he was madly in love with Reshma and they were living like husband and wife,” said the complainant. She then contacted Sachin to inquire about his wife, but he said that he is no longer living with Reshma and has moved out of the Bhandup residence. On September 17, Koli returned to Alibaug and said that he is going forever, said Pratiksha, adding that he packed all his stuff and left.
On September 20, Reshma sent a photo of her along with Koli to Pratiskha's WhatsApp. “I tried to call my husband, but his phone was switched off from September 21 to 25. Then I received a call from the police and they informed me that my husband died by hanging himself at Reshma's residence on September 25,” Pratiksha said. She later found that her husband had borrowed huge debt from their acquaintances and relatives.
The suicide note read that the couple forced Koli to bring more money, said the police. “According to the wife, the deceased didn't give her the borrowed money. We are questioning some people to check the sequence of events. The couple was not present at their residences, so we have declared them wanted,” said a police official.
