Shyamal (24), son of 58-year-old Sangeeta Sawant, who was found murdered at her Bhandup residence, recorded his statement with the police on Monday. He reported that 17 tola gold worth `5.75 lakh along with `10,000 in cash missing. Shyamal and his sister Vidya did not express any suspicion towards anyone, but the police had detained a plumber for questioning. Additionally, from the call data records, the police has discovered that on the day of the murder, Sangeeta had not made or received any phone calls.
The police on Monday picked up one Alex Fernandes (52), a plumber known to the family for the past 10 years, who was also seen entering and leaving the building on the day of the incident. “There is a branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) below the Amardeep Building. The CCTV cameras there have captured Fernandes entering the building at around 12.15 pm, but exiting almost within a minute. He said that he decided to leave after ringing the bell a few times,” said PI Ashok Taphale. Mr Fernandes told the police that the deceased knew him for
the past several years and he had asked her to call him “frequently for plumbing work.”
“We only questioned him and wanted to see if he had been at their residence during the day of the murder. He was later allowed to go,” said a police officer involved in the case. Meanwhile, Unit 7 of the crime branch also detained another person, reportedly a plumber, for questioning. According to the CDR, Sangeeta had last spoken to her daughter the previous morning at around 10.30 am. “She then told Shyamal about the impending plumbing work late in the evening when he returned from work,” said a police source.
Meanwhile, the two bloodstained hand gloves, one of which is a black coloured rubber glove and the other made of nylon, have been sent for forensic analysis.