Thane: Vaibhav Kadam, the former police bodyguard of ex-minister Jitendra Awhad, allegedly died by suicide by throwing himself under a train between Nilje and Taloja stations in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday morning.
He was one of the accused in brutal attack on a civil engineer of Thane, Anant Karmuse on April 5, 2020.
Why did Vaibhav Kadam beat up Anant Karmuse?
Karmuse had forwarded a Facebook post on Awhad which enraged him big time. Awhad then allegedly sent Kadam and a few others to pick up Karmuse from his home in Thane and brought to his private bungalow "Naad" near Jupiter Hospital.
Karmuse told FPJ on Wednesday, "I was kidnapped at around 11.30 p.m. by three cops and a few others from my home and taken to Awhad's bungalow where I was beaten black and blue by about 20 people. I am not sure if Kadam was one of them, but he surely was one of the kidnappers."
Visuals from mortuary of Thane civil hospital | Prashant Narvekar
The MVA government had not taken the incident seriously and Awhad was arrested after a long delay. He was arrested and immediately released on bail. After the change of government a fresh probe by a special investigation team under assistant commissioner Gajanan Kadbule has been launched. Kadam was being interrogated for the past few days as part of this renewed investigation. Apparently, he was under tremendous pressure. This could have been the cause of his suicide, sources said.
ADR filed in the case
The Thane government railway police (GRP) has registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the incident and have initiated its investigation. However, BJP leader Mohit Kambhoj claimed in a tweet that it was a case of murder and promised to expose the person concerned.
Kadam was arrested by Thane police in 2020 for allegedly beating Karamuse at Jitendra Awhad`s 'NAAD" bungalow in Thane for morphing Awhad image on social media.
Visuals from mortuary of Thane civil hospital | Prashant Narvekar
Pandharinath Kande, senior police inspector, Thane railway police station said, "On Wednesday morning Kadam threw himself in between Nilje and Taloja on the suburban track going from Diva to Roha.The preliminary reports suggest that a dead body wearing a T-shirt and shorts was found on the railway track around 9 am. His head and hands were severed.
Cops launch probe into Kadam's death
"He was immediately admitted to Balaji Hospital in Diva in a critical condition. Later he was rushed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CSMH) in Kalwa where doctors declared him dead before admission.
Prashant Narvekar
"We found a mobile phone and some money. Also Vaibhav kept a status on his mobile phone with the text stating that he had no connection with the kidnapping and beating up of Karamuse . We are in a process of registering statements of kin and eyewitness to ascertain whether it is a case of suicide or accidental death." Kadam, who was of the rank of head constable, was arrested in connection with Karmuse incident and was on bail.
Soon after the death, Awhad along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) party workers, went to the Thane civil hospital mortuary where Kadam's body was kept.
