Dismissed police inspector found guilty in Ashwini Bidre murder case

The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of sentence for the convicted accused on April 11. Another accused, Raju Patil, has been acquitted in the case for lack of evidence.

Additional sessions judge, Panvel, K G Paldewar delivered his verdict on Saturday. The trial in the case began in November 2018 at Alibaug district court, which later transferred to the newly established Panvel sessions court. The prosecution examined 84 witnesses.

Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat, who was appointed in the case in 2019, said Kurundkar was convicted under Section 302 (murder) of IPC and arguments on whether he will get life or death sentence will be made by parties on April 11.

Moreover, he said Patil was acquitted for ‘want of evidence’ and two others were convicted for offences punishable under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC. “We will seek maximum punishment for the accused,” Gharat said.

Bidre had gone missing in April 2016 after which her brother Anand lodged a missing case in Kalamboli police station in Panvel. However, the police allegedly did not take any action until late 2017 when accused Kurundkar was arrested along with two others for her abduction and murder.

Police arrested Kurundkar on December 7, 2017, who was allegedly in a relationship with Bidre, claiming that he killed her at his Bhayander residence on April 11, 2016, and dismembered her body with the help of sharp weapon and stuffed it in two iron trunks and dumped them into the creek. As per police, Kurundkar used heavy trunks to ensure that the body would not float.

The police had also arrested Patil, with whom Kurundkar had allegedly spoken a few hours after the alleged murder and Bhandari, who was Kurundkar’s driver. In 2018, Phalnikar, a Pune-based banker, who is Kurundkar’s childhood friend, was arrested, after which the police started scouring the Vasai creek for trunks, which went on for two years. However, the same was not found.

The police built their case based on Call Data Records (CDRs), statements of witnesses, Chemical Analysis reports and other circumstantial evidence among other pieces of evidence.

Gharat said that Kurundkar could not have been let off merely because the body and weapon was not found, as there was “incriminating’ material including strong scientific evidence, which were against the accused, which negated his false claims.

The police said that as per CDR, her mobile was switched off on April 11 that year and his mobile location was also traced near the creek. On April 14, as per police, the accused switched on her mobile for 2-3 minutes to send messages to everyone. Gharat argued that Kurundkar had made a false claim that her mobile was off because she had gone for Vipassana session at a centre in Igatpuri, Nashik.

Moreover, he argued that Kurundkar made false entries in the police register claiming that he was on patrolling duty at relevant time, while his location was traced at his home and later near the creek. Gharat also said that Kurundkar had instructed his constable to buy a ‘sickle’ from a Thane shop and the mobile location confirmed the same.

“If Kurundkar was not guilty, as an ordinary prudent person, he should have got disturbed after she went missing and would have told and assured her family members that he will make efforts to find her. But he did not, and instead asked them to leave,” Gharat said.

In May 2018, Bidre’s family had claimed that the investigating agencies were shielding Kurundkar and three others. In October that year, Navi Mumbai Police informed her family that advocate Ujjwal Nikam, whom they wanted to argue the case, had declined their request to be the special public prosecutor. Gharat was appointed as SPP in May 2019 and initially wrote to the police commissioner, stating that officials were not cooperating with him despite his appointment.