Dhokla supplier kills lover’s husband, buries body in mangroves

On June 1, Kumawat called Prajapati to a house in Borivali, where he clobbered the businessman to death using a hammer. He then buried the body in a spot he had earmarked. He then sent a video message to the victim’s family and friends claiming to be Prajapati and that he was killing himself to repent for a mistake he had committed.

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old man has been arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s husband and burying the body in mangroves near Ghodbunder. The victim had been missing since June 1 from his residence in Borivali East.

Dhokla supplier kills lover’s husband, buries body in mangroves

According to Samta Nagar police in Kandivali, the accused — Sureshkumar Kumawat — a dhokla supplier, was involved in an affair with the wife of the victim — Dinesh Prajapati, 38. And both the men used to fight over this issue.

On June 1, Kumawat called Prajapati to a house in Borivali, where he clobbered the businessman to death using a hammer. He then buried the body in a spot he had earmarked. He then sent a video message to the victim’s family and friends claiming to be Prajapati and that he was killing himself to repent for a mistake he had committed.

Using CCTV footages, the police were able to trace Prajapati’s movements and zeroed in on Kumawat, who confessed to the crime, said the police.

With the help of Kashimira police, the Samta Nagar police have recovered Prajapati’s body and sent it to Shatabdi Hospital for postmortem. The police have arrested Kumawat and are now trying to find out whether Urmila Devda, Prajapati’s wife, was involved in the planning of the murder.

According to the police, after the relatives reported Prajapati as missing and showed them the video message, a case was registered on June 2. The police then formed five search teams and using Prajapati’s last mobile tower location, traced the person he had met last.

On scanning footages of CCTV cameras covering the location, the officers found that Prajapati had entered a house in Rajendra Nagar in Borivali East and did not come out. They then noticed a man loading a white gunny bag on a scooter and leaving the house.

The police detained the suspect identified as Kumawat. “Kumawat told us that he had an affair with Prajapati’s wife, Urmila Devda,” said Smita Patil, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 12.

A police officer said that Kumawat has confessed to the crime. Prajapati had learnt about his wife’s affair, which had continued even after their wedding because of which the victim often had fights with Kumawat, a Kajupada resident.

In his confession, Kumawat revealed that on June 1, he had called Pajapati to a house in Rajendra Nagar where they had a fight after which Kumawa picked up a hammer and clobbered him, said the police.

Kumawat then stuffed his body in a gunny bag at night on June 1 and loaded it on his scooter and went to Ghodbunder where he buried it in a shallow pit dug for tree plantation. “Kumawat had already earmarked the spot as he had seen it earlier,” said a police officer.

The accused then switched on Prajapati’s mobile phone and shot a video of the area, typed the message and forwarded it to several of his contacts, including his family member, relatives and friends.