Sadichha Sane murder case: Court refuses bail to lifeguard Mithu Singh

Mumbai sessions court rejects bail for lifeguard accused of murdering MBBS student Sadichha Sane, last seen with him taking selfies at Bandstand.

MUMBAI: The sessions court on Friday rejected the bail application of lifeguard Mithu Singh, 32, who was arrested for allegedly murdering 22-year-old MBBS student Sadichha Sane in November 2021. The MBBS student had gone missing from Bandra and Singh was the last person who was seen talking to her and clicking selfies with her.

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Sane was a third-year student of Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College. On November 29, 2021, at 9.58am, she boarded a train from Virar and got off at Andheri as she was to appear for her prelims in JJ Hospital at 2pm. But instead of heading to the college, she boarded another train and alighted at Bandra, from where she took an auto to Bandstand. Her family lodged a missing complaint after she did not return home till late into night.

During investigation, police traced the location of her mobile phone and found that she was roaming around at Bandstand throughout the afternoon and evening. “CCTV cameras captured Sane heading towards the seashore opposite Taj Lands’ End hotel at 12.30am,” said a police officer.

In his statement to the police, Singh said he clicked four selfies with Sane using his phone, while she took one selfie with him using her phone. During further investigation, police found CCTV footage showing cell phone screens blinking, indicating that selfies were indeed clicked. They also found a single beam of light, presumably from a cell phone torch, moving away from Bandstand around 3am. But it was not clear who had moved away as the light was insufficient.

As a lifeguard, Singh knew several policemen, but he did not come forward to give a statement when news of Sane’s disappearance emerged. “It was only after we zeroed in on him that he admitted he was with her and was the last person to interact with her,” the police officer said.

Subsequently, the Bandra police registered a case against Singh, which was later transferred to unit 9 for further investigation.