Pune: In a significant development in the Maval triple murder case, a fifth suspect, Kavita Shailendra Gaikwad, was arrested on Thursday (August 29) by the police.
The arrest follows the earlier detainment of four other suspects. Kavita has been remanded to police custody until September 2.
Earlier, the police had arrested Gajendra Jagannath Dagadkhair (37, resident of Varale, Talegaon Dabhade), Ravikant Bhanudas Gaikwad (41, resident of Ahmednagar), Dr. Arjun Shivappa Pol (69, resident of Kopar Khairane, Navi Mumbai), and Usha Nivrutti Budhavant (35, resident of Kopar Khairane).
The victims of the murder were identified as Samreen Nisar Nevrekar (25 years old) and her two children, Ishant (5 years old) and Izaan (2 years old).
According to the police, on July 6, Gajendra Dagadkhair sent Samreen Nevrekar to Kalamboli with his friend Ravikant Gaikwad for an abortion. During the procedure at the hospital, Samreen died.
The suspects then conspired to dispose of her body and her two young children. On July 9, they brought the bodies to Varale, Talegaon, and planned to dispose of them by throwing them into the Indrayani River.
They threw Samreen's body into the river, and when her children started crying upon witnessing this, the suspects cruelly threw the children into the river as well. Subsequently, the police arrested Gajendra, Ravikant, Dr. Arjun Pol, and Usha Budhavant, who had arranged for the abortion.
During the investigation, the police questioned Ravikant's friend, Kavita Gaikwad. Her statements were found to be inconsistent, and further investigation revealed her involvement in the conspiracy. As a result, the police arrested her on Thursday (29th) and presented her in court.
Were the bodies buried?
Meanwhile, the police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to search for the bodies of Samreen and her children. The team has alerted all police stations along the Indrayani River, from Talegaon to Ujani Dam, to search for the bodies.
However, they have not been found. The police then shifted their focus to the suspects' native place in Ahmednagar, suspecting that the bodies might have been buried there. They conducted excavations in fields and other locations with the help of a JCB machine, but no bodies were found.
