VIRAR WOMAN MURDERED IN HER FLAT: TWO ARRESTED

PALGHAR: Virar police arrested two persons for the murder of Virar resident Manisha Dombal, 63, on Friday. Dombal’s body was discovered by her husband Manohar, 65, at their apartment at Grisham Palace in Virat Nagar. The victim was stabbed on her chest with a knife .

The arrested accused have been identified as Yash Prabhakar Indvatkar, 18, and Vinaykumar Doneti, 19, both residents of Bhayandar. The main accused, Vinod Bhimsingh Padvi, 25, who allegedly took off with ₹7.28 lakh in valuables and cash, is still absconding.

“Robbery was the main motive behind the murder,” said Vivek Sonawane, senior inspector, Virar police station. “The entire booty of ₹7.28 lakh in gold and cash is with Padvi, who is absconding.”

According to police, on Friday, Manohar entered the couple’s flat and found his wife lying in a pool of blood.

“We have arrested the duo under sections 302 (murder), 397 (dacoity or robbery leading to murder), and 459 (house trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and will produce them before the Vasai court on Monday, said Sonawane.

Upon investigating the scene, the police had suspected the attackers were familiar to the victim. “We got to know from Manohar, that Padvi had visited the family on Thursday for a recce and convinced Manisha to buy second-hand cars which were seized by banks from loan defaulters. That was the major clue that led us to the duo,” said Sonawane.