The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural police arrested an accused who staged a drama of his own murder by killing his friend. SP Dr Vinaykumar Rathod briefed the press about the incident in a conference on Monday. The accused has been identified as Mahesh Ramesh Mathe (20, Vazar, Gangapur taluka), while the deceased friend is Amol Shivnath Ughade (17, Shahpur, Gangapur).
Body burnt to destroy evidence
Dr Rathod stated that a body was found in a half-burnt condition in Saragpur Shivar on November 1. The man had been brutally murdered, with his face, hands, and legs burned to destroy evidence. Senior police officers inspected the scene and found an Aadhaar card and other identification documents in the deceased's pocket.
Based on these documents, the police initiated an investigation and identified the body as Mahesh Mathe. However, the well-placed evidence raised suspicions. The police discovered that a youth named Amol Ughade had been missing since the night of October 31. Further investigation revealed that the body belonged to Amol.
Dr Rathod directed both the Gangapur police and the local crime branch to conduct parallel investigations. It was revealed that Mahesh and Amol were friends. Amol had gone out late on October 31 but did not return home. The police launched a massive manhunt for Mahesh, who was arrested on Sunday. During questioning, Mahesh confessed that he killed Amol with the help of his friend Kishor Ramesh Barde (23, June Vazar, Gangapur).
Staged death to pacify girlfriend's family
Kishor informed the police that they had called Amol out for drinks and then strangled him to death. They burned his face and other body parts to destroy evidence and placed Mahesh's own clothes and documents on Amol. Mahesh revealed that he loved a girl whose family opposed their relationship, prompting him to plan this drama of his own murder and kill Amol to mislead her family. He believed that if he stages his death, it might pacify her family.
The police action was executed under the guidance of SP Dr Rathod, Additional SP Sunil Lanjewar, Deputy Sub-Divisional Police Officer Dilip Bhagwat, and PI Satish Wagh, along with officers Kumarsingh Rathod, Sudhir Mote, Pawan Ingale, Pramod Kale, Lahu Thote, Walmik Nikam, Ravi Lokhande, Narendra Khandare, Santosh Patil, and others.
