The lawyer booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sudhir More has vanished into thin air, the police said on Wednesday. The lawyer, Nilima Chavan, was booked after the late leader’s son Samar alleged that his father was allegedly harassed by her. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against her on September 1, a day after More died by suicide on the railway tracks near Ghatkopar.
According to Kurla Government Railway Police (GRP), Chavan approached the sessions court for anticipatory bail, which was rejected. It was then that a search operation to apprehend her was launched. The cops went to her residence in Mulund, but it turned out that she had rented out her apartment. They then visited her second residence at Parksite, Vikhroli, but all they found was Chavan’s aged mother, who told them that she was unaware about her daughter’s whereabouts.
A senior police official from Kurla GRP said that Chavan’s two mobile phones were also switched off. He said, “We are trying to get her last location and making enquiries with people who know her.” He said her daughter studies in the US and she may attempt to leave the country. “We are in the process of issuing a lookout circular,” the official added.
The police will also issue a red-corner notice, which is a notification issued by Interpol at the request of a member country to alert the law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives wanted internationally.
On the night of August 31, More left home without his bodyguards from his residence in Parksite via auto and reached Ghatkopar railway station. From platform 1 he walked towards the end of platform 2 before stepping on the tracks towards Vidyavihar. Minutes later, he lay down on a track and was fatally hit by a Kalyan-CSMT slow train. At first, a case of accidental death was registered by the GRP, which was converted into an FIR on September 1 after recording the statement of Samar More.
The police sent Sudhir More’s mobile for technical analysis and found that he and Chavan had been in touch for the past six years. In the last four months, they had interacted more frequently via calls and texts. On the day of More’s death, Chavan had called him at least 20 times. The last call made to More was also allegedly by Chavan.
