4 days Ago
Pune: The Wakad police on Saturday arrested an autorickshaw driver (35) wanted in the murder of his live-in partner in Thergaon on Sept 11. Vinayak Avale of Kalewadi allegedly strangled his 28-year-old partner over suspicion of infidelity in his rented room and dumped her body in the autorickshaw. Before running away, he parked the auto near the house of his partner's mother in Thergaon.
Senior inspector NB Kolhatkar of the Wakad police told TOI that a police team was on his trail and got information about his whereabouts at Bijapur in Karnataka. "Our team, led by sub-inspector Sachin Chavan, took Avale into custody from Solapur railway station, when he was returning from Bijapur," he said. Kolhatkar added that Avale has five cases registered against him with the Govt Railway Police (GRP) Pune and the Pimpri Chinchwad police.
These include charges of murder attempt, possession of illegal arms, drugs and body offences, he said. On Sept 11, a passerby noticed the woman lying on the backseat of an auto covered with a bedsheet. After getting an alert from the police control room, the Wakad police reached the spot and found her dead.
The police ascertained her identity later and found that her husband was dead, and she is survived by a son. The police also found that for the past two years, she was living with auto driver Avale, who had left his wife. Kolhatkar said during the interrogation, Avale revealed that he suspected his partner was having an affair.
"On the night of Sept 10, they had a heated argument over this issue, following which he strangled her to death and dumped the body in the auto," said Kolhatkar..
