Police submit chargesheet against boyfriend, wife in Naina Mahat murder case

Mumbai: The Naigaon police on Monday submitted a 622-page chargesheet in the Naina Mahat murder against the two accused – the victim’s boyfriend Manohar Ravishankar Shukla, 34, and his wife Poornima, 30

Mumbai: The Naigaon police on Monday submitted a 622-page chargesheet in the Naina Mahat murder against the two accused – the victim’s boyfriend Manohar Ravishankar Shukla, 34, and his wife Poornima, 30. The duo were accused of drowning Mahat in a bucket of water on August 9 following a fight between them and disposing off her body near the Gujarat border on September 13.

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Police officials said the chargesheet submitted on Monday before the Vasai court contained statements of 15 witnesses including the security staff of SunTeck city in Naigaon (east), where Mahat stayed; friends of the deceased and Shukla from the time they were in a relationship; and people who saw the accused couple drag a suitcase out of Mahat’s building lift and transport it on their motorcycle along with their three-year-old son.

“We have gathered all the required evidence and verified the CCTV footage from the forensic laboratory, confirming that the duo seen in the footage is Shukla and Poornima,” said a police officer from the Naigaon police station. Police have also attached evidence gathered from the scene of crime including the bucket used to drown Mahat with the chargesheet, he said.

“We are awaiting the DNA report of the body to match with the blood sample of her sister Jaya, which would be submitted to the court later,” the officer stated.

According to Naigaon police, the accused duo murdered Mahat after she refused to withdraw the rape case she had filed against Shukla at Waliv police station. The accused, however, claimed that Mahat had been blackmailing Shukla to divorce his wife and marry her, due to which they used to fight constantly.

Naigaon police had arrested the accused duo in August, days after Mahat, a 29-year-old hair stylist, was reported missing by her sister Jaya Mahat, a make-up artist. In her complaint, Jaya stated that she had been living in Nalasopara for the preceding few months after she had a fight with her sister over her relationship with Shukla. On August 14, she received a call from Naina’s colleague saying she had not been answering her phone and messages on social media for a couple of days. Jaya subsequently visited Naina’s apartment in Naigaon, but found it locked. She then approached the Naigaon police to file a missing complaint.