Navy, private divers go to sea near Bandstand; find nothing

On Thursday, police also recovered Singh’s clothes from his residence in Bandra, which he was wearing on the day he had met Sane and clicked a selfie with her at Bandstand. The clothes have been sent to the Kalina forensic science laboratory (FSL) to check for traces of Sane’s DNA

Mumbai: Mumbai crime branch, in collaboration with private divers and Indian Navy, spent four hours at Bandstand, Bandra, in a search operation to fish out the remains of the MBBS student Swadichcha Sane, who was allegedly murdered by Mittu Singh, a lifeguard, in November 2021.

Mumbai, India - January 20, 2023: DCP Crime Zone-9 police team search for the dead body of the missing MBBS student Swadichcha Sane from Palghar, after the lifeguard Mittu Sukhdev Singh allegedly confessed of murdering her in the early hours of November 30, 2021 and dumped her body in the sea, at Bandstand, Bandra (West), in Mumbai, India, on Friday, January 20, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The operation in the sea was conducted a day after Singh, the prime suspect, confessed to the police that he had killed Sane in the early hours of November 30, 2021, and dumped her body in the sea.

On Thursday, police also recovered Singh’s clothes from his residence in Bandra, which he was wearing on the day he had met Sane and clicked a selfie with her at Bandstand. The clothes have been sent to the Kalina forensic science laboratory (FSL) to check for traces of Sane’s DNA.

Eight people, which included two divers from Indian Navy and an equal number of private divers, participated in the six-hour operation, between 8 am and 2 pm. Crime branch officials steered the course while they were all out in the sea.

They followed the location given by Singh in his confession to police -- around a hundred meters away from the shore, opposite Taj Lands End. While divers from the Navy left after four hours of search, private divers continued for another two hours. The operation will be on for a few days, said a senior crime branch officer.

“Finding the remains of the victim is now just a matter of luck. We are trying our best,” said a private diver, who was part of the team. He was earlier hired by police in Shraddha Walkar’s murder case to fish out her mobile phone from Vasai creek.

Police also took the accused to the place of the incident for further leads, which was futile, said a senior officer from crime branch.

Manish Sane, father of the deceased, said, “Search operations were carried out by police along with Indian Coast Guard from December 6 to 12, 2021, soon after she went missing. Police and local fishermen, from here till Ratnagiri, were informed about the incident and urged to get in touch with the police if they noticed remains of a body on the shore. Nothing was found. I don’t believe in Singh’s statement that he killed and dumped her body in the sea.”

“We are trying to establish why and how the accused killed her,” another officer said. Police have added sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code against Singh and his associate, Jabbar Ansari. The duo was arrested on January 13 on charges of kidnapping.

Swadichcha Sane, 22, was last seen with Singh, at Bandra Bandstand, where he had clicked selfies with her. Earlier, the police had conducted narco analysis and brain-mapping tests on Singh at Nagpada police hospital but the reports were inconclusive, a police officer said.

Sane was a third-year student at Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College. She had boarded a train at 9:58am from Virar station on November 29, 2021, and alighted at Andheri as she was to appear for her prelims at 2pm. She then boarded another train to Bandra, from where she took an autorickshaw to Bandstand.