Mumbai, Feb 14 (Mid-day) : Two days after the brutal killing of Preeti Bhagekar, a four-month pregnant housewife in Dahisar, at the hands of her husband’s ex-girlfriend, the deceased’s family claims that her husband is also involved in the crime.

Preeti was strangulated to death by 22-year-old fashion designer Ujwala Veer, her neighbour, on Wednesday afternoon. “My sister was not just killed by Ujwala, her husband Prashant was also involved in it. He did not even attend his wife’s funeral on Thursday, and has been acting as though nothing has happened.

We suspect that he killed his wife and, along with his ex-girlfriend, they cooked up this story. They pre-planned the murder of my sister,” said Bhushan More, Preeti’s brother. Her family also alleged that despite Preeti’s pregnancy, Dahisar police did not register the case under sections of double murder.

The police are still searching for the deceased’s mobile phone, which has been missing since the incident. DCP Punjabrao Ugale, said, “Preeti’s mobile phone has been missing from the time the incident came to light. We are also interrogating her husband, the accused and her family members.”

Investigating officer Uday Rajeshirke from Dahisar police station, said, “There is no section of double murder in Indian Penal Code (IPC). We have registered the case under Sections 302 (Murder) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) under the IPC. The fact that the deceased was pregnant only comes in the post-mortem report.”
The case

On Wednesday afternoon, Ujwala met Preeti and took her to her house, promising to pay back the R20,000 that her husband Prashant had loaned. When they reached the house, the accused started beating Preeti and strangulated her using a rope.

Ujwala was not sure if she was successful in killing her, and she choked Preeti again, this time using her hands. Still, uncertain, however, Ujwala then used a blade to slit her throat and hit her head with an iron rod. She kept then kept the dead body inside the sofa-cum-bed in her living room for three hours.

Later, she slashed her arm with a knife and went to Prashant’s house. She told him that a tall man entered her home forcefully, and attacked her and his wife with a knife. However, by then Dahisar police had reached the spot and found Preeti’s body inside the sofa.