The partially boiled or roasted body parts of Mira Road resident Saraswati Vaidya has made it difficult for the forensic experts to ascertain if she was killed or died by suicide. Vadiya’s live-in partner, 56-year-old Manoj Sane is suspected to have murdered her on June 4 in their rented apartment in Geeta Akashdeep building.
He then chopped the body using a chainsaw into several pieces before pressure cooking and roasting some of them in their kitchen to easily dispose of the body without any stench. However, Sane has claimed that Vaidya had committed suicide and he decided to cut the body and discard it to avoid being “framed for murder”.
According to a report in Times of India, more than ascertaining it the case if or murder or suicide, it is even difficult to find out of Vaidya took the poison of her own accord or was forced to do so.
The report stated that there is a “slim” chance that the Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina, would be able to trace poison in some fat tissues or bones that JJ Hospital’s forensic doctors gathered during the autopsy completed on Monday.
TOI further stated that the worry for the police is that Vaidya’s live-in partner may get away with only two to five years of imprisonment for destroying evidence. They quoted former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh: “If the investigation agency fails to prove murder, the accused can be booked under the IPC section 201 (disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 306 (abetment to suicide).”
Sane was on Monday taken to his rented Mira Road flat number 704, where he had allegedly murdered Vaidya. Her body parts were, meanwhile, handed over to her family members by the state-run JJ hospital.
Soon after, the sisters performed the last rites at the Reay Road crematorium. The DNA samples of the deceased and her three elder sisters have also been sent to the forensic laboratories in Kalina.
What’s the Next Options?
The TOI report quoted forensic physiologist Dr Deepti Puranik as saying, “Psychological evaluation is critical in criminal investigations as it evaluates the behavioural characteristics of the accused. There are various techniques such as psychological profiling, polygraph, brain electrical oscillation signature profiling, and narcoanalysis, that can help.” Puranik has examined famous cases such as Aarushi murder, Telgi, Malegaon blast, among others.
The report also quoted Rukamani Krishnamurthy, former Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL) director and chairperson and CEO of Helik Advisory as saying: “Scientific reconstruction in the Mira Road murder case will help police get a lead and know the motive behind the murder. Forensic tests will help police corroborate evidence.”
Was Saraswati Vaidya Manoj Sane’s ‘Wife’ or ‘Sworn Sister’?
Initially, Sane was reported to have told police that he had never had physical relationship with Vaidya as he treated her like his daughter and taught her math. However, it was later revealed that they had indeed got married, and the 32-year-old victim referred to Sane as her uncle due to their “age difference”.
Vaidya’s sisters had also approached the police on Friday and said Sane had married the deceased in a temple. The two met at a ration shop in Borivali where Sane worked.
The sisters alleged that Sane had forced Vaidya into a relationship by promising her a “good life”. The TOI report stated that he, however, did not allow her to work after they got married.
The police have not revealed the motive behind the murder, but they are yet to rule out domestic violence as portions of the victim’s hand had injury marks. Sane too accepted that they had violent arguments over domestic issues.
Vaidya’s Body Parts Dumped in Nullah
According to TOI, Sane is suspected to have carried some of the body parts in a black plastic bag and dumped it in the nullah. A plastic bag smelling of flesh was seized from the flat when the murder came to light.
On Sunday, a police team visited a nearby nullah running parallel to the railway tracks to ascertain if any body parts were dumped there, the report stated. Police said that most of the body parts were recovered from the flat.
The report stated that the CCTV footage obtained from the building on Friday revealed Sane’s suspicious movement, especially during the night hours.
Vaidya’s Sister Sees Her ‘Long Hair Cut & Kept on Kitchen Slab’
A police officer said that the Vaidya sisters are “enraged” and want strictest punishment for the accused. An officer said that one of the sisters got emotional when she saw the photo of the deceased’s long hair that were “cut and kept on kitchen slab by Sane”. She said that Saraswati used to love her long hair.
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