Two people from Uttan were arrested on Tuesday for beating a nine-year-old girl to death, packing her body in a drum and throwing it in the Kasara ghat. Police recovered the minor’s body on Wednesday night based on the confession of one of the arrested accused.
While police are still on the hunt for the main accused, Prakash Rathod, 37, his wife Anita, 31, and their relative Akash Chavhan, 22, were arrested and have confessed to the crime.
The victim, Bharati Chavhan, was Rathod’s niece. “In April, Rathod went to Aurangabad for a function. He met the girl’s mother, Heena Chavhan, 28, who is his deceased cousin’s wife,” said Satish Nikam, senior inspector from Uttan police station.
Heena had three daughters and a son. Rathod suggested that she send her daughter Bharati with him and offered to educate her. “The couple brought the girl home on the pretext of enrolling her in school but they instead made her do household work. They beat her up for everything,” said Shivaji Rathod, superintendent of police, Thane rural.
On November 7, Rathod was allegedly shouting at the girl when she wet her underwear. He beat her up and then strangled her. She collapsed and stopped breathing. The couple then asked their relative, Chavhan to arrange a tempo. They put Bharati’s body in a drum with cement. Chavhan took the drum and threw it in the Kasara ghat.
{{/usCountry}}On November 7, Rathod was allegedly shouting at the girl when she wet her underwear. He beat her up and then strangled her. She collapsed and stopped breathing. The couple then asked their relative, Chavhan to arrange a tempo. They put Bharati’s body in a drum with cement. Chavhan took the drum and threw it in the Kasara ghat.
{{/usCountry}}Nikam said, “The post-mortem report does not mention rape. Also, we did not find evidence to prove it was a human sacrifice.”
Heena suspected something was wrong when Rathod started giving excuses for Bharati’s absence when her mother phoned. “When Heena’s calls to the family went unanswered in November, she approached the Aurangabad Police on December 2,” said Nikam. She arrived in Uttan to find Rathod’s house locked. On December 4, Uttan police registered a case of kidnapping.
Police traced Anita to Chalisgaon and she confessed to the crime. Soon after Chavhan was arrested from Bhiwandi.