Khandeshwar police booked two persons in connection with the death of a 44-year-old woman at a high rise in Panvel. The charred body was found at her house on March 15 night. The deceased's roommate was also found with burnt injuries and she was admitted to the MGM Hospital Kamothe and later shifted to National Burn Centre in Aroli.
The deceased was identified as Sarita Mahesh Padte. Police said that Gauri Shankar Kedari, 36, the roommate of the deceased Padte, had taken Rs 1.75 from Mohini Damdhere and Dhananjay Damdhere to get a government job for them. Since Kedari could not get a job for them, they were asking for their money back. Damdheres are residents of Pune.
According to police, around 4 pm on March 15, both Demdhere had come to her home at room number 2805 in Balaji Symphony in Sukapur in Panvel for asking for their money. They had also brought petrol in a bottle and candle and threatened to kill her if she did not give her money back. On March 15, Kedari was supposed to give Rs 70,000 to them.
The deceased Padte was also present and she tried to prevent them from assaulting and burning Kedari. In the scuffle, accidentally, the petrol was poured on Padte’s body and caught fire with the burning candle. While Padte’s body charred to death, Kedari also sustained burn injuries.
Later, the security guard of the building alerted the fire brigade after smoke started coming out. The fire brigade doused the fire and took Kedari to the MGM Hospital in Kamothe. The house was completely engulfed in the fire and there was no clue left there. Police said that these two women were residing in the flat alone.
Meanwhile, Kedari who had sustained burnt injuries was shifted to National Burn Centre in Airoli. Later, she informed the police about Damdhere's involvement in the incident.
Initially, the police had registered a case of accidental death report. Later, both Damdheres has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under sections 304 for and 34 of IPC and started searching them.
