City police today claimed to have cracked the case of a 58-year-old woman's murder in suburban Bhandup with the arrest of her brother-in-law, who allegedly killed her to rob her of gold ornaments valued at Rs 3.5 lakh to splurge on drinking and gambling among others.
Accused Santosh Sawant (45), an auto rickshaw driver, was arrested after he confessed to the crime following sustained interrogation, Senior Inspector (Crime branch) Vyankat Patil said.
Sangeeta Sawant, who lived on the first floor of Amardeep Building, was found dead in her bedroom by her son who returned home at about 5.30 PM on April 26, police said.
The cupboard containing gold ornaments worth Rs 3.5 lakh was ransacked and the valuables were missing. A case was registered at Kanjurmarg police station.
A team of Crime branch had also visited the spot and it began parallel probe.
Patil said, "Upon visiting the spot, two hand gloves and a cotton material were among the things found at the crime scene. Initially, a local plumber's role was suspected but nothing concrete was found to prove his role. Enquiries were also made with relatives, electrician, labourers and neighbours. The CCTV footage of a bank on the building's ground floor also did not help much."
During the course of enquiries, the victim's brother-in- law Sawant's name emerged as one of the suspects and he was picked up for questioning.
"Initially Sawant denied his role in the murder but sustained and tactful interrogation led him to confess to the crime," the officer said.
Sawant told police he was in need of money for drinking and gambling and was in deep financial problem.
"Some of the stolen gold ornaments worth Rs 3.25 lakh was recovered," Patil said.
