A Pune man has been arrested for the premeditated murder of his wife, a crime police allege was meticulously planned over months and inspired by the Bollywood thriller ‘Drishyam’, in which a family covers up a killing.
Samir Punjabrao Jadhav, 42, reportedly confessed to strangling his 38-year-old wife, Anjali, a private school teacher, before burning her body in a custom-built fabrication kiln and disposing of the ashes in a river.
The investigation was triggered when Jadhav, a fabricator and garage owner, filed a missing person’s report at the Warje police station on October 28. He claimed his wife had left their Shivane home two days prior to meet a friend, according to reports.
However, his story quickly unravelled. A review of CCTV footage by Sub-Inspectors Sanjay Narale and Nitin Gaikwad showed Anjali leaving home with Jadhav himself on the afternoon of October 26 and the couple were seen travelling together. Police noted that Jadhav’s account of events was inconsistent.
“Due to the inconsistencies in his statements, senior inspector Vishwajeet Kaingade chose to continue investigating the matter,” Inspector Nilesh Badakh was cited by TOI as saying. Under sustained interrogation, Jadhav’s façade crumbled and he admitted to the murder.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 3) Sambhaji Kadam stated that the probe revealed Jadhav had been motivated by suspicions of his wife’s infidelity. “He said that his wife was having an affair with another man, which led to frequent quarrels between them over the last one-and-a-half years,” DCP Kadam said, as per TimesNow.
The police, however, uncovered a twist. Investigators found that Jadhav had recently travelled to Hyderabad and sent his wife an “I love you” message from a friend’s phone. “When Anjali replied ‘I love you too’ to the same number, he used it as proof of an alleged affair,” DCP Kadam revealed, suggesting the evidence may have been manufactured.
The investigation took a cinematic turn when police discovered Jadhav had drawn direct inspiration from the 2015 film ‘Drishyam’, in which a character meticulously disposes of a body to evade capture.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Sambhaji Kadam, as reported by TimesNow, the probe revealed Jadhav had watched the film four times in the months before the murder and decided to kill his wife and destroy the evidence, mirroring the on-screen plot.
Jadhav’s preparation was extensive. About a month before the murder, he rented a godown in Shindewadi, approximately 25 kilometres from Pune, for Rs 18,000. Using his fabrication skills, he constructed a kiln on the site and stocked it with wood and fuel, police said.
On the day of the murder, Jadhav told his wife they were going for an outing. After a drive, he stopped at Shindewadi, bought bhel and took her to the godown. It was there, as they sat together eating, that Jadhav allegedly strangled his wife around 10pm, DCP Kadam stated. He then burned the body in the kiln overnight and threw the ashes in a river the next morning, subsequently dismantling the kiln.
Senior Inspector Vishwajeet Kaingade described the act as “meticulously planned,” noting Jadhav had sent his mother and two children away beforehand. Kaingade added that the accused not only disposed of his wife’s body but also washed the crime scene to destroy evidence.
After the act, Jadhav returned home and maintained a pretence of normality, even frequently visiting the police station to check on the progress of the missing person’s case he had filed.
An FIR has been registered under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. The case has been transferred to the Rajgad police station for further investigation.
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