The crime branch cracked a 15-year-old murder case on Friday with the arrest of two persons who assumed they had successfully escaped the police after the crime. Both the male accused, aged 25 and 22 then, had murdered 58-year-old Bhanumati Amrutlal Thakkar at her Chunabhatti residence on October 12, 1997 and decamped with jewellery and cash worth `2.55 lakh. The Sion police had closed the case a year later after being unable to find any leads in the investigation.
Prime accused, Tanaji Maruti Pawar (40) and his accomplice Sambhaji Babu Shelar (38) were detained following tip-offs from informants and consistently grilled when they confessed to the crime. Crime branch officers will now hand over the duo to the Sion police, which will place them under arrest for the murder. Pawar’s wife Maya worked as a domestic help at the deceased’s residence. Shelar moved to Goregaon (west) after the murder and has been working as a peon in a private firm, while Pawar works in Chunabhatti with a private hospital.
According to senior PI Vinayak Vast, who heads unit-4 of the crime branch, Bhanumati had denied Pawar a loan of `10,000 when he decided to rob her. “He hatched a plan with Shelar, who was his neighbour. The two found an opportunity when they learnt that Bhanumati needed Tulsi plants and reached her residence on October 12. They stabbed her to death and made away with the loot. A month after the incident, Pawar had told his wife about the murder under the influence of alcohol. His wife had to keep the secret for 15 years,” he said.