Jobless man chopped his wife and drank her blood

A day after a gruesome murder was discovered in Bhayander, more gory details have tumbled out.

A 35-year-old man killed his wife, chopped her body into pieces and also drank the blood which spilled on the floor. He hid the body parts in the refrigerator. The crime came to light after the accused, Girish Pote, nonchalantly told his cousin about the murder. His cousin informed the police.  

Madhuwanti Pathak, 33, and Pote got married on June 20, 2011. The couple has a two-year-old boy.

Pathak, who was born and brought up in France, held a French passport. Her mother, a musician, had married an Indian and in 2009 returned to France where she died. She used to work at a mall in Bhayander.

Pote worked as a sales manager in a Raymond show room but had been jobless for the past six months.

The couple lived on the 14th floor of Nakshatra Apartments in Bhayander, opposite Golden Nest police chowki. The flat belongs to Madhuwanti’s mother.

“Madhuwanti wanted to go back to France after selling a property worth Rs54 lakh in Mumbai.

During investigation, Pote revealed that his wife disliked India and wanted to take the money and fly to France. But he had opposed the idea, leading to frequent fights with her,” said a police officer.

Four days ago, the child was sent to a relative’s house in Thane.

On Tuesday, Pote managed to convince her that he would allow her to go back to France. Both had a nice, hearty meal. Later, he went to a mall and bought a packet of knives.

After returning home, he killed her and chopped her body into pieces. He then drank the blood which had spilled on the floor. “As soon as he realised what he had done, he started crying and cleaned up the room. He hid the body parts in the refrigerator,” said an officer.

While four body parts, including the head, were plastered with cellophane tape and kept in the refrigerator, another part was hidden in the bedroom.

He tried taking the body out but changed his mind as he realised that the building has closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras even in the lobby and lift. “He did not wanted to take the risk,” added the officer.

When his cousin Nitin Gadare, came to know about the crime, he informed the police.

“Pote did not regret his actions even after his arrest. He repeatedly kept saying that he had freed Madhuwanti from the bad world,” said Dinkar Pingle, senior police inspector of Navghar police station.

“He is in a state of shock. We have seized the knives. Autopsy reports are awaited. Pote has been remanded to police custody till December 12,” he said.

“After being jobless for months, he was surviving on his wife’s income and did not wanted to lose her. He also wanted her property,” Pingle added.

The crime came to light after Pote nonchalantly informed his cousin about the murder. His cousin, in turn, informed the police. The police say Pote had researched online on ways to preserve bodies.

Shocked residents will be counselled
The heinous crime in a posh locality in Bhayander, has shocked the residents of Nakshatra Apartments. They are afraid to loiter in the lobby or take the lift after the murder was found out. 

The housing society’s committee will hold a counselling session for residents as they are in complete shock. As soon as the residents of Nakshatra Apartments came to know that a woman has been killed and chopped into pieces by her husband, fear has gripped residents.

They can’t believe that something so brutal has happened in their society. The residents will undergo counselling for a better living and dealing with the fear and anxiety. “We are afraid of moving in the lobby and lift alone. My children too are afraid and refuse to go out and play,” said a resident on the building’s 13 floor.

“We will hold a counselling session for residents. We will form a committee in which even a slightest suspicious things noticed by residents would be discussed and we will meet the family going through a rough patch,” said the housing society’s committee member.

Cops reward accused’s cousin for alerting them
If Girish Pote’s cousin brother would not have informed the police about the crime, the accused would have gone scot-free.

Pote would have dumped the body and fled to a foreign country.

Nitin Gadare, a Dahisar resident and Pote’s cousin, was the first person who came to know about the heinous crime and inform the police.

Senior police officers have decided to honour him and give a reward for his honesty and for abiding by the law.

Although Gadare was shocked, he kept mum.

Later, he informed the police, who laid a trap for the accused.

Gadare called Pote to Shivar garden where the police arrested him.

“If Gadare would not have told the police about the crime, no one would have known about it.

He was honest enough to give a complaint to the police. He also helped the police nab Pote after calling him to meet him at Shivar garden,” said a senior police officer.

“We will give him a reward. We will invite him to the police station and honour him in front of senior police officers from Thane rural police department,” he added.