Murder case filed week after man found dead in waterlogged pit

The deceased, identified as Shubham Pawar, an electrician, was found on July 8 in a waterlogged pit behind a water tank near Mahatma Phule College in Varche Ovle. The police initially registered an accidental death report before the autopsy confirmed strangulation.

Navi Mumbai: A week after the body of a 28-year-old man was found in a waterlogged pit near a water tank in Panvel, police have registered a murder case after the postmortem revealed that he had been strangled, and hadn’t drowned, as believed initially.

Murder case filed week after man found dead in waterlogged pit

The deceased, identified as Shubham Pawar, an electrician, was found on July 8 in a waterlogged pit behind a water tank near Mahatma Phule College in Varche Ovle. The police initially registered an accidental death report before the autopsy confirmed strangulation.

Based on a complaint lodged by Pawar’s younger brother, Shrikant Pawar, police on Thursday registered an FIR under Section 103(1)(murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police suspect Sameer Sheikh, a resident of Pushpak Nagar in Panvel, of killing Pawar between 9.40am on July 7 and 2pm on July 8.

“After the body was recovered, it was sent for postmortem, which established that the victim had been strangled to death,” said assistant commissioner of police Bhausaheb Dhole.

According to the complaint, the motive stems from an earlier incident in which Pawar had allegedly entered Sheikh’s house while the latter’s wife was alone. The complainant alleged that Sheikh held a grudge over the incident, strangled Pawar to death and dumped the body in the waterlogged pit to conceal the crime.