Wife, two others held for killing man who was reported missing

A year after a 62-yearold retired banker went missing, the Charkop police on Monday arrested his wife, sister-in-law and her boyfriend for allegedly killing him.

Prakash Wankhede’s wife Asha, 60, had given her sister Vandana Korve, 40, and her boyfriend Nilesh Supale, 32, Rs2 lakh to kill the banker, said the police. The police said Prakash was suspicious that his wife was having an affair, which may have triggered her to plan the murder. The couple has three children, who are married and live at Vasai, Navi Mumbai and Mira Road.

“Our questioning revealed that while she did not have an affair, the constant suspicion frustrated her and so she planned the murder,” said an officer from Charkop police station.

On April 10, 2016, Prakash, who retired as a deputy branch manger of a bank and Asha, left for Ahmednagar to attend a family function.

“She returned to Mumbai alone on April 12. But it was only on April 27 that she lodged a missing persons complaint. She had told us that her husband wanted to be by himself and did not wish to be contacted for 15 days,” said another police officer. After reaching Ahmednagar, the couple stayed at a house with Vandana, said the police.

“On the intervening night of April 11-12, the accused fed kheer laced with sleeping pills to Prakash. When he fell unconscious, they killed him by hitting him on his head with an iron rod,” said Vikram Deshmane, deputy commissioner of police, zone XI. They bundled the body into a Scorpio and dumped it at Parner, 27km from Ahmednagar, said the police.

Back in Ahmednagar on the same day, the Nagar police found a man’s body but could not identify him for lack of identification documents on him. They registered a case of murder.

“Based on technical evidence and their conflicting statements, the three were arrested,” added Deshmane. They will be handed over to the Nagar police station.

Korve is married and has two children. She was with Supale, who is an RTI activist and a