Panvel woman hires ‘rakhi brother’ to kill her mother to usurp property

A 26-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly hiring her ‘rakhi brother’ to kill her mother in order to usurp her property

Mumbai: A 26-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly hiring her ‘rakhi brother’ to kill her mother in order to usurp her property. The arrest came two days after the mother, Priya Pralhad Naik, 44, was found dead at her residence by her husband. Investigations revealed that Priya’s daughter Pranali, a divorced mother of a five-year-old child, hatched the plot for her greed over property and irritation at living under her mother’s watchful eye.

A 26-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly hiring her ‘rakhi brother’ to kill her mother in order to usurp her property. (HT Photo)

While an accidental death report was initially registered by the Panvel City police, the post mortem report revealed that the death was due to ‘asphyxia due to strangulation’. A murder probe subsequently began.

Preliminary investigation led the police to two 19-year-old men Vivek Patil and Vishal Pandey, said deputy commissioner of police (zone II) Prashant Mohite. During the interrogation, Patil told the police that the order to kill the woman was given by her own daughter Pranali. “She knew that Patil, whom she considered her rakhi brother, was in need of money. So she offered to pay him ₹10 lakh to get rid of her mother. Patil agreed and got his friend Pandey to help him,” said an inspector,

Pranali, an only child, had left her husband’s home in 2020 with her daughter and moved back in with her parents. “Since she was divorced, the mother kept a watch on who she spoke to or mingled with. Pranali was allegedly in a relationship that her mother did not approve of. Also, the family has many real estate investments, from which they earn a hefty amount as rent. All of these dealings were handled by the mother. The accused, though the only child, was keen on getting hold of these properties and therefore decided the plan to get rid of her mother,” police added.

True to plan, on September 13, after Pranali left the house along with her child, Patil and Pandey knocked on the door asking for her. When her mother answered the door, they strangled her with her dupatta.

The trio were produced before the court on Monday and have been remanded to police custody till September 23.