Cop’s son has ghastly end at city rave party
A 20-year-old son of a police officer was brutally killed, possibly during a rave party that went awry. His body has been found near the lake in Royal Palms in Aarey Colony of Goregaon (East). Atharva’s father Narendra Shinde is a senior inspector in the Economic Offences Wing.
There are several injury marks and abrasions on the body which was found on Wednesday morning. He had badly bruised black eyes, as if he had been battered with punches.
The body was sent to Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon (west) for post-mortem examination where the doctors said he was punched all over. “There were lacerations on his private part and the anus was bleeding as if something had been inserted,” the doctor said. The doctor said there were also contusions to his ribs and lungs.
Atharva, who was studying sound engineering in a Pune college, left home on Sunday to attend a birthday party of a common friend in Aarey Colony, where over two dozen youth, all in the 18-21 age group, had gathered.
On Sunday night he texted his father that he won’t be able to return home as the party would go on till the wee hours on Monday. His cell phone was switched off when his father called him on Monday.
Assuming that Atharva will return home by afternoon or evening, his father Narendra Shinde left for office on Monday. The family got alarmed when he did not return home by Monday night. Next morning, Shinde contacted Atharva’s friends to know his whereabouts. But he drew a blank after making inquiries, visiting the party venue and even searching in the jungle all night. On Wednesday morning, Shinde found his son’s body near a lake in Royal Palms.
The police have questioned more than two dozen youth who attended the birthday party. “He (Atharva) was hit by a heavy object on his ribs. We have questioned more than 25 persons but no arrest has been made. We have registered a murder case against unknown person (s) and investigations are underway,” said senior inspector of Aarey Colony police, Vidhyalaxmi V. Hiremath.
The officer said that most of the suspects who had attended the party were high on alcohol and drugs. One of the females is admitted at a private hospital in Kandivali for drug overdose, said Hiremath.
The investigators are examining CCTV footage of the venue to ascertain how Atharva’s body reached the lake, which is at some distance from the party venue -- a bungalow in Aarey Colony.
The police have recovered his iPhone which is password protected and cannot be accessed with his finger imprint. His cell phone has been sent for a forensic analysis test.
Shinde said what had happened was his destiny. “The investigators will find out what exactly happened,” he added.
His son was a fan of Dutch superstar DJ and producer Armin van Buuren’s music. The youthful boy full of energy will be badly missed.