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Minister’s PA booked for attempting to murder wife, assault minor son
Personal assistant to Maharashtra cabinet minister Atul Save has been booked for attempting to murder his wife and assaulting their minor son, officials said on Tuesday
PUNE: Personal assistant (PA) and officer on special duty (OSD) to Maharashtra cabinet minister Atul Save has been booked for attempting to murder his wife and assaulting their minor son at their residence in Koregaon Park; officials said on Tuesday. The accused, Vijay Dhulchand Karande, is employed with the social welfare department in Nanded, and is currently on deputation in Mumbai serving as PA and OSD to Save.
The incident took place at around 8.30 pm on April 30 at the accused’s residence in Queens Garden near Pune railway station. According to the police, an altercation took place between the accused and his wife, Rupali Karande, 30, when the latter questioned him about a mobile conversation and chats, and asked him for the password to his mobile phone. Enraged, Vijay Karande began abusing Rupali and later attacked her with a cricket bat and tried to strangle her. Rupali sustained injuries in the attack. When the couple’s minor son intervened to protect his mother, the accused assaulted him as well.
According to the police, Rupali is from Shrigonda, Ahilyanagar, and following the incident, she left Pune along with her son and reached her relatives’ residence in Ahilyanagar district. She was admitted to a hospital for treatment. A medico-legal case was filed with zero FIR at the Tofkhana police station on Sunday, with the FIR being transferred to the Koregaon Park police station for further investigation the same day.
Vijaykumar Doke, senior police inspector, said, “We have sent our teams to Ahilyanagar, but the accused has kept his phone at home and is absconding”.
Investigation has revealed that there were frequent arguments between Vijay and Rupali over several issues. According to Rupali, Vijay did not take them with him to Mumbai which led to suspicion. Rupali also claimed that Vijay threatened her family and her saying that he was an OSD to a minister and that no one could harm him.
Another team of the Pune police reached Mantralaya in Mumbai but Vijay was not found at his workplace. The police are trying to complete all formalities with the state home ministry if they are required to arrest Vijay from the Mantralaya area. A case has been filed at the Koregaon Park police station under sections 109(1), 118(1) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
