Mumbai: Twenty days after they recovered the body of a 43-year-old man from his apartment in Bhayandar, the Navghar unit of the Thane (rural) police have arrested the wife of the deceased and her paramour for their involvement in what turned out to be a cold blooded murder.
The accused have been identified as Dipti Pramod Patankar and her lover Samadhan Pashankar.
Though it was a well-orchestrated crime, the clue that helped cops crack the case was an unusually clear lipstick smear on the rim of a tea-cup which was found on the crime scene.
According to the police they were informed about the body of the deceased, identified as Pramod Patankar (43), which was lying in the bedroom of his seventh floor apartment in the NG Silver Spring building.
“With clearly visible lipstick marks on the cup, condoms neatly stacked under the pillow and a ransacked cupboard, the crime scene seemed to be perfectly arranged, thus raising our suspicion of an inside hand.” said Senior Police Inspector Ram Bhalsingh.
During interrogation, Dipti's mobile phone was checked; confronted with details of call records, she broke down and disclosed that she had an illicit relation with Samadhan since 2015.
Further investigations brought out shocking details of how the wife conspired with her paramour to eliminate her husband who had become a stumbling block in their relationship.
After two failed attempts last month, Dipti spiked her husband's tea with sleeping pills; minutes after he became dizzy, she called Samadhan and both strangulated Pramod to death in sleep.
A case under section 302 of the IPC has been registered against the accused who have confessed to the crime.
By Suresh Golani
