The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the suicide of Pankaja Munde's personal assistant Anant Garje's wife has taken the custody of the Maharashtra minister's aide. Garje was arrested last month and is currently under judicial custody. He will be formally handed over to the SIT for the further investigation.
The SIT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Ragasudha R, was constituted by the Maharashtra government earlier this month to probe the matter. It also comprises eight other police officials.
What this case is all about?
Garje's wife 28-year-old Dr Gauri Palve, who was working as a dentist at a civic-run hospital in Mumbai, had allegedly died by suicide. Last month, Garje was arrested and a case of abetting the suicide was registered against him at the Worli Police Station based on a complaint by Palve's father.
The couple had tied the knot in February this year.
According to the police, Palve's body was found at her flat in central Mumbai. Palve's family has alleged that Garje had an extra-marital affair and she even caught him chatting with another woman over phone. This had caused fight among the couple, with Garje allegedly threatening Palve, they claimed.
Family calls it murder
They family also claimed that this is not a suicide and a murder, as they demanded an in-camera post-mortem and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case.
Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the Maharashtra Women's Rights Commission, has also said that the parents of Palave have expressed suspicion over their daughter's death by suicide. "State Women's Rights Commission will follow up on the entire investigation. The commission is with the family of Palave, and it will continue to extend the support till the investigation is ongoing," she said.
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