Man died of brain haemorrhage after killing wife: Autopsy

Dilip Salvi, the brother of Ganesh Salvi, a former deputy mayor belonging to the Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, has been in the construction business for the past 20 years. He has a married daughter and a son, Prasad, who looks after his business. The family lives in Yashwant Nivas, a bungalow in Kumbhar Aali in Kalwa

Thane: The Kalwa police’s investigation into the deaths of 59-year-old developer Dilip Salvi and his wife, Pramila, on Friday night, has indicated that the crime scenario was not what they initially suspected. A preliminary post-mortem report suggests that Salvi did not kill himself after shooting his wife but died moments later of a brain haemorrhage.

According to police officials, Salvi had been facing family issues and would often return home drunk and get into fights with his wife. On Friday too, he had a huge argument with her. His son was not at home, but Salvi’s 80-year-old mother was, in a room on the first floor. ((Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

Dilip Salvi, the brother of Ganesh Salvi, a former deputy mayor belonging to the Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, has been in the construction business for the past 20 years. He has a married daughter and a son, Prasad, who looks after his business. The family lives in Yashwant Nivas, a bungalow in Kumbhar Aali in Kalwa.

Naresh Patil, one of Salvi’s neighbours, who lives in a nearby building, said, “We heard a gunshot but thought it must be a firecracker. We never in our wildest dreams imagined that the Salvi family would go through anything like this. Our whole area has been tense since yesterday.”

According to police officials, Salvi had been facing family issues and would often return home drunk and get into fights with his wife. On Friday too, he had a huge argument with her. His son was not at home, but Salvi’s 80-year-old mother was, in a room on the first floor.

According to the sequence pieced together by the police, Salvi reached his Kalwa home at around 9.15 pm in an angry mood and started arguing with his wife. At 9.30 pm, she called her son and asked him to rush back home to control his father. “She was very frightened because her husband was furious and had gone to fetch his gun from the cupboard,” said a police officer. “But by the time Prasad got home 15 minutes later, it was too late—his mother was lying in a pool of blood and his father too was dead.”

Kanhaiyya Thorat, senior police inspector at Kalwa police station, said that the police initially thought that Dilip had fired at his wife and then killed himself. “But later we discovered that he died from a brain hemorrhage,” he said. “A preliminary postmortem report has indicated that.”

During the initial questioning of family members, the police learnt that Salvi had not been getting on with his wife for the past few months, and their quarrels had increased in the past few days. Deputy commissioner Zone 1 Ganesh Gawde said, “Our investigation shows that he suspected his wife’s moral character.”

Around 4 pm, the bodies of the deceased arrived at the house and were cremated at around 6.00 pm at the Kalwa crematorium. Women who were present for last rites but refused to share their name, said, “Pramila was a really kind and beautiful woman, who was always smiling. Dilip would often doubt her but never to this extent. She was really happy with him.”

Salvi’s business associates said that since he had recently stepped back from his work and allowed his son to take charge, they did not know what exactly was going on in his mind.