Borivli housewife murder: Cops arrest friend of victim's daughter

The Borivli police on Tuesday solved the murder case of a 46-year-old housewife, who was found dead in her flat in Borivli (West) last Friday. The police have arrested a 29-year-old friend of the woman's daughter in the case.

The police said the accused, identified as Rajendra Karanjekar, has been friends with Mansi Patade, daughter of Seema Patade, for the last few years. On the day of the murder, Mansi had gone for her classes, and her mother was alone at home.

"We were sure it was the work of someone known to the victim as there were no signs of a forced entry in the house," said deputy commissioner of police (zone XII) Balsingh Rajput.

"We started questioning relatives and friends of the victim's family members, and Karanjekar emerged as the main suspect. Later, cell phone tower location data confirmed Karanjekar's presence in the area at the time of the murder, and, after we picked him up, he confessed to the crime."

The police said investigation revealed that Karanjekar knew the Patade family, and had visited them earlier as well. "On the day of the murder, Karanjekar visited the victim. When she went to the kitchen for some work, he went into her bedroom and tried to steal from the cupboard. However, when she caught him, he pushed her on the bed and smothered her with the pillow, and then, fled with the jewellery," said an officer. The police have recovered the stolen booty worth Rs4.18 lakh.

Last Friday, the resident of Krishna Classic building was found murdered in her 11th-floor flat. According to the victim's daughter, who first saw the body and alerted the police, two gold earrings, one bracelet and a mangalsutra were missing from the house.