Bid to portray murder as suicide thwarted due to drone camera

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The incident of honour killing where a 17-year-old girl was pushed to death by her 25-year-old cousin's brother from Khawadya Hill on Monday afternoon created a sensation in the state. Ironically, the parents of the deceased girl did not file a complaint, therefore, the police, acting on behalf of the government, registered the case of murder. The name of the deceased girl was Namrata Ganeshrao Sherkar (17, resident of Shahgad, Shri Ram Colony, tehsil - Ambad), and the accused cousin's name was Rishikesh Tanaji Sherkar (25, resident of Waladgaon).

It may be noted that due to the ongoing romantic relationship of Namrata from the village with a boy from a different caste, which was bringing shame to the family, her cousin brother, to permanently end the relationship, took her to the top of the hill and pushed her into a deep ravine, resulting in her murder. The accused was immediately apprehended at the scene with the help of residents. In his confession given to the police, the accused made some shocking revelations.

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Namrata had eloped with the intercaste youth. This had maligned the name of the family in the village. Besides, the family members had to contact the police station. These sprees of incidents occupied the mind of Rishikesh for the past many days. Accordingly, he calmly planned the murder. On getting a chance, he pushed her from the hill. She fell from the height and was screaming for help. The accused, thinking that she would have died, came down the hill by walking in hurried steps. Co-incidentally, the camera suspected his movement and captured Rishikesh’s movement in the drone camera (which was actually meant to cover the cricket match ongoing in Teesgaon Shivar). The total length of the clip in the camera is 21 seconds. Later, a few youths chased Rishikesh, held him and then handed him over to the police. It is learnt that Rishikesh had planned to project the murder as a suicide, but it got foiled as the live incident was captured in a drone camera.

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Hundreds of environmental enthusiasts and health-conscious citizens are attracted to the hill. Every day, a large number of people visit the hill to work out, practice yoga, and breathe in fresh air. The climbing route from the Dhule-Solapur National Highway towards the top of the mountain is relatively easy, whereas the route on the eastern side, passing by the Khawadya slums, is much more difficult. The direction towards the lake has a deep ravine. While the hill appears attractive from above, its terrifying nature is evident from the events that have occurred there. A 15-year-old minor girl was raped by a 22-year-old friend. One girl while doing exercise early in the morning slipped from the hilltop and died after falling into the deep ravine. A girl chatting with her friends was gang raped at the top. Besides, many attempts have been made to commit suicide by jumping. Ironically, many incidents of exploitation had taken place but were not reported to the police. Hence they are still under wraps, said the local villagers to the newspaper.

Deceased expressed threats from parents

A case of abducting a minor girl was registered at Kundi Police Station, under the jurisdiction of Jalna Rural Police Station. In this case, during the investigation, PSI Balaji Padmane, who took Namrata's statement, reported that she had mentioned in her written statement, "My life is in danger from my parents." She gave this statement on December 28, 2024. After completing the necessary procedures, the police had sent her to the Government Women's Hostel in Jalna. Later, at the request of her parents, she was handed over to them, and her father then sent her to her uncle's house. After this, she was murdered by her cousin. Interestingly, her parents have been telling the villagers that Namrata committed suicide by jumping off the hill, said the villagers.

Meanwhile, the police inspector Krishna Shinde while speaking to the newspaper said, “ Since the parents did not file a complaint, the police, acting on behalf of the government, registered the case. We are also investigating the possibility of indirect involvement or silent consent from the parents in the murder.”