Maharashtra: Woman govt officer plotted ‘supari’ killing of father-in-law for Rs 22-crore property

Nagpur | Investigations into the bizarre case of a government woman officer who allegedly carried out a ‘supari’ (contract) killing of her father-in-law, has revealed that the black deed was carried out to grab family properties worth around Rs 20-22 crore, a senior police officer said here on Wednesday.

Nagpur Commissioner of Police Ravinder Singhal told the media that so far, six accused individuals have been arrested in the sensational case after the ‘hit-and-run’ killing of a senior citizen, Purushottam Puttewar, a businessman, on May 22.

The prime accused is Archana Manish Puttewar, 53, an Assistant Director in the Gadchiroli District Town Planning Department, who was arrested last week, more than a fortnight after her father-in-law met with an ‘accident’ by a rashly driven car.

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Simultaneously, another senior bureaucrat, Prashant Parlewar -- Archana Puttewar's elder brother -- has also come under the police radar for his alleged complicity in the accident-turned-murder case, and has been arrested, said the police chief.

Parlewar is a Director with the MSME Department in Nagpur and Singhal said that the police are now establishing his connections and links with Purushottam Puttewar’s killing - which was originally registered as a road accident matter, but later filed as a murder case.

Besides the siblings, Archana M. Puttewar and Prashant Parlewar, the others arrested include her assistant Payal Nageshwar, the family driver Sarthak Bagade, and two others, Neeraj Imje, Sachin Dharmik, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nimish Goyal.

So far, the police have recovered gold, cash, mobiles and a car -- totally worth around Rs 17 lakh, that was the purported part pay-off for the gruesome murder that was disguised as an accident.

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On May 22, Purushottam Puttewar was returning home on foot after visiting his wife convalescing at a nearby hospital when a speeding car knocked him down, injuring him seriously and he succumbed soon afterward during treatment.

Singhal also clarified that contrary to earlier reports that Purushottam Puttewar's properties were worth Rs 300 crore, they were actually in the range of around Rs 50 crore, with a dispute centering on assets worth about Rs 20-22 crore.

Archana, the wife of a prominent ENT surgeon, Dr. Manish P. Puttewar – who lodged the first complaint after his father's death – had hired the assailants by promising to pay them Rs 1 crore and parted with the cash and gold jewelry and asked them organised a second-hand car for the planned killing.

The sister-brother duo also lured Dharmik with other benefits like premises and a beer bar license, after which he hired Imje and involved Bagade into the dark conspiracy.

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The police chief Singhal, said that in May, the accused had made a couple of failed attempts to eliminate Purushottam Puttewar, but he survived with minor injuries, so the family did not register a police complaint.

Incidentally, after the killing, the driver, Bagade, went on a pilgrimage to Vaishnodevi Temple in Jammu, and was arrested after his return on Tuesday.

While Archana M. Puttewar is currently in judicial custody, the other accused are being produced in court for police remand, and further investigations are underway.

The probe would encompass the official track records of the woman who is said to have high political connections, as well as her brother, both holding important posts in key government departments.

IANS

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