Mustard plants help police nail accused in Naina Mahat murder case

Mumbai: Mustard plants played a key role in helping Naigaon police crack the Naina Mahat murder and prepare a water-tight case against the accused duo – Mahat’s boyfriend Manohar Ravishankar Shukla, 34, and his wife Poornima, 30

Mumbai: Mustard plants played a key role in helping Naigaon police crack the Naina Mahat murder and prepare a water-tight case against the accused duo – Mahat’s boyfriend Manohar Ravishankar Shukla, 34, and his wife Poornima, 30.

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According to police, the accused duo spread around 1.15 kg of mustard seeds at the spot in Pardi on the banks of the Paar river, where they dumped Mahat’s body. When police officials took the accused to the spot after their arrest on September 13, they noticed some plants that did not match with the topography of the area. They sent some samples to a botany expert, who confirmed the plants were mustard, said Poornima Chougule-Shingi, deputy commissioner (zone 2) of Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar Police.

The police had on Monday submitted a 622-page chargesheet in court, with statements of over 25 people including the owner of the shop from where the accused allegedly bought the mustard seeds. According to the chargesheet, Shukla allegedly drowned Mahat in a bucket of water in her apartment at Sunteck city in Naigaon at 6.30pm on August 9 after she refused to withdraw her rape complaint against him. Shukla left the apartment but returned later that evening with his wife Poornima and their three-year-old son. The duo packed Mahat’s body into a suitcase and transported it to Pardi.

Shukla and Poornima told police that they bought mustard seeds while going to Mahat’s house in order to mask the smell of her decomposing body. “They halted at several spots to dispose the body but found it too dangerous. So, they drove to the banks of Paar river in Pardi, and found a spot near the bullet train construction site. They dumped Mahat’s body there and covered it with mustard seeds,” said a police officer from Naigaon police station.

The accused couple then drove further to Khardi village and threw Mahat’s suitcase near a pond. When officials visited the village, they found that a few kids had found the suitcase and opened it under the supervision of the family members. “We recorded the statements of the villagers, who confirmed that they found mustard seeds in the suitcase after which they disposed it off outside the village,” said the officer.