Man strangles sister-in-law, smothers her son with pillow

Waits in the house with the bodies till his brother returns from work eight hours later

A 22-year-old woman and her two-year-old son were allegedly killed by her brother-in-law on Monday. The accused, Suresh Chavan, spent more than eight hours with their dead bodies before he was arrested.

Yogesh found Jaishree and Avinash’s bodies and raised an alarm. The police were informed by neighbours and Chavan was initially detained by the police. (HT image)

According to the police, Chavan, 30, lived in a one-bedroom apartment at Ekdant CHS, in Kamothe, with his younger brother Yogesh, 29; Yogesh’s wife, Jaishree; their son Avinash; and Chavan and Yogesh’s parents, who had left for their hometown a few days ago. Chavan was unemployed while Yogesh works as a security guard.

“Around 10.30 am on Monday, Yogesh left for work, leaving Jaishree, Avinash and Suresh at home,” said inspector Madhukar Bhatte of Kamothe police station. “Around 2.30pm, Suresh bolted the door from inside and strangulated Jaishree to death. After that he smothered Avinash with a pillow.”

The police said they suspected Chavan blamed Jaishree for the criticism he faced for not having a job. Senior inspector Devidas Sonawane said, “His [Chavan’s] parents and other family members reprimanded him for sitting idle. Things appeared normal till Yogesh got married around three years ago. Pressure mounted on him after Yogesh’s marriage.”

Yogesh found Jaishree and Avinash’s bodies and raised an alarm. The police were informed by neighbours and Chavan was initially detained by the police. The deceased’s bodies were sent to Panvel rural hospital for post-mortem and later handed over to the family. The post-mortem reports are expected later this week. The police said Chavan has confessed to the murders. He has been booked under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He will be produced in court today.

“Suresh liked to remain aloof and never talked to anyone in the building. But we had never imagined that he would commit such a heinous crime,” said a neighbour.