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Sangli family of 9 was poisoned, godman among two held: Police
On June 20, brothers Popat Vanmore (56), an arts teacher, and Dr Manik Vanmore (49), a veterinarian, as well as their 72-year-old mother, wives (aged 48 and 45), and their children (the youngest was 15) were found dead in two separate houses a kilometre apart in Mhaisal town
A week after nine members of a family in Mhaisal, Sangli were found dead in their homes, reportedly by suicide, a police probe has revealed that they were victims of a mass murder allegedly committed by a god-man and an accomplice.
Senior police officials of the Miraj rural station on Sunday arrested mantrik (god-man) Abbas Mohammad Bagwan (48) and his driver, Dheeraj Chandrakant Survase (30) from Solapur and charged them under section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A first information report (FIR) was filed on June 20 charging 25 persons (it did not include Bagwan or Survase) under sections 306, 341, 504, of the IPC as well several sections of the Maharashtra money lending (regulation) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act.
On June 20, brothers Popat Vanmore (56), an arts teacher, and Dr Manik Vanmore (49), a veterinarian, as well as their 72-year-old mother, wives (aged 48 and 45), and their children (the youngest was 15) were found dead in two separate houses a kilometre apart in Mhaisal town. Six of the bodies were discovered in the veterinarian’s house when a milkman peered through the window as the no one had answered his doorbell.
Initial investigations indicated that the families were in debt, and owed more than ₹1 crore to local money lenders who were charging them exorbitant interest rates. Two suicide notes were also reportedly found at both locations, naming the money lenders whom the two brothers had borrowed from.
The police suspect that Bagwan and Survase planted the notes to divert suspicion from them.
According to Sangli Superintendent of Police Dixit Gedam, the probe officials gathered from friends and relatives of the victims that both brothers were in contact with a “mantrik” to help them locate a “hidden treasure”. Based on this, the police sent a team to Solapur to make the arrests.
The police traced the mobile tower locations of both accused near crime scene on the night of June 19. Closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage from that time also captured the vehicle movement of both accused near both houses.
“The locals told us that Bagwan used to visit deceased family often during the night time. With the two persons arrested, we have decided to add murder section in this case,” Gedam said.
The police suspect that the duo laced the family members’ drinks with a “poisonous substance” which led to their deaths, Gedam added.
“When we recovered the nine bodies at two locations last week, the back doors of both houses were open. It provided us clue about foul play based on which we started investigation,” said Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur Range) Manoj Kumar Lohiya.
“[The accused’s] mobile tower locations when crime took place showed that the two suspects were in the Mhaisal town and were moving in their four- wheeler. The CCTV footage captured the movement of their vehicle which we later traced at Solapur and arrested them on Monday,” Lohiya added.
Another official involved in the investigation said that Bagwan reportedly borrowed a large sum of money from both brothers, reportedly to help them discover a “hidden treasure”. The brothers had, in turn, reportedly borrowed this money from various money lenders as well as financial institutions.
“The mantrik had taken money from the two siblings on the pretext of assisting them in exploring hidden treasure. As the two brothers started chasing him to either return money or help them get the treasure, Bagwan and Survase murdered them,” the official, who requested anonymity, said.
With their arrests, the number of people apprehended in the tragic deaths has gone up to 19, and includes some private money lenders.
