Mumbai murder: She was ‘like daughter’, says man accused of cutting partner into pieces

According to a senior police officer, the man accused of killing his alleged live-in partner in their flat in Geeta Nagar area of Mira Road, near Mumbai, and chopping the body into innumerable pieces told police during interrogation that he is HIV-positive and had never had physical relationship with Vaidya, as she was “like his daughter.”

The officer said that accused Manoj Ramesh Sane, 56, who was arrested on Thursday, has claimed that Saraswati Vaidya, 32, died by suicide on June 3. Fearing that he would be booked in the case, he allegedly tried to dispose of the body, and told police that he planned to end his life thereafter, the officer said.

The officer, who arrived at the scene on Wednesday night after learning of the fatality, stated that details of Sane’s assertions during interrogation are being checked.

Sane allegedly cooked sections of the body in a pressure cooker and roasted them on gas to dump them easily after chopping the body into small parts with an electric tree cutter, according to authorities. He allegedly kept the pieces in a bucket, tub, cooker, and other household utensils, and sliced them so small that police couldn’t even count them, according to an officer.

“During preliminary inquiry, Sane told police that in 2008 he discovered that he was HIV positive,” the senior officer said. “Since then, he has been on medication. He said that he suspects he contracted the disease due to use of infected blood during his treatment a long time ago, after he had met with an accident.”

According to Sane’s confession to police, Vaidya was very possessive in nature and suspected that he was being unfaithful to her whenever he returned home late, the officer said. She was planning to appear for Class 10 SSC exams and Sane was teaching her math, the officer said, quoting from his admission during interrogation.

The officer stated that they discovered a board with maths calculations scribbled on it on one of the walls of the seventh-floor flat.

Sane told investigators that he found Vaidya on the floor of their flat on June 3rd, with froth flowing from her mouth. He told police that he checked her pulse and discovered she was dead. Sane reportedly informed authorities that he opted to dispose of the remains because he was afraid of repercussions.

Sane informed police that he has an Industrial Training Institute certificate but has been working at a PDS shop for ten years since he was unable to get a suitable job. According to DCP Bajbale, the body parts recovered from the kitchen have been transported to Sir JJ Hospital for forensic analysis.