Man held for killing his grandmother seven years ago
The city crime branch has arrested a man seven years after he allegedly killed his 75-year-old grandmother, who was against his second love marriage. All this time, the accused, Pradip Sonawane, had been hiding in Kalyan undertaking odd jobs. He had severed all ties with the rest of his family to stay underground. His cover blew when he recently contacted a family member on Facebook to say that he is doing fine.
On June 13, 2014, the decomposed body of Shashikala Waghamare was recovered from her house at Military Road in Andheri. Her murder came to light only when foul smell emanated from the house. Waghamare was strangled to death and her jewellery was also missing.
The Powai police then registered an offence of murder and began their investigation. Since then the victim’s grandson was missing; he had left the house leaving his wife and child behind, said the police.
Recently, the crime branch unit 10 received information that Sonawane had contacted a family member but had not disclosed his whereabouts.
Senior inspector Maheshkumar Thakur said for the last six months assistant police inspectors Dhanaraj Chaudhary and Ganesh Todkar, along with police constable Dhargalkar and Shete, were developing the information. By the time Sonawane was traced, he had deleted his account, but the team managed to retrieve his photographs.
Technical analysis of data revealed that he had been living in Kalyan and was engaged in house painting work. After a manhunt, the police found his house in Nadivali village in Kalyan but he was not at home.
Thakur said the team didn’t want to take any chances as he had been on the run for seven years. So the team laid a trap and deployed a decoy who ordered painting work in the village.
During interrogation, Sonawane confessed to killing his grandmother. He said she was against his second love marriage and was trying to turn his wife against him. In Kalyan, Sonawane reportedly married a third time and has a child from the marriage, the police said.