A shocking incident occurred in Mulund East, where a man locked his mother-in-law inside a tempo, assaulted her, and set her on fire. The fire claimed the lives of both the mother-in-law and the son-in-law. Navghar Police have registered a case against the deceased son-in-law for murder and attempting to destroy evidence. Initial police investigations suggest that the accused committed the crime out of anger, believing that his mother-in-law had influenced his wife to separate from him for the past several years.
The deceased son-in-law has been identified as Krishna Daji Ashtankar (56), while the mother-in-law was Babbi Daji Usre (72). Babbi Usre lived in Nane Pada, Mulund East, with her married daughter and 22-year-old grandson. Krishna Ashtankar, a tempo driver, resided in Mulund East with his wife and two children. However, around 7–8 years ago, his wife left him and moved to her maternal home with their children.
Following his wife’s departure, Krishna became an alcoholic and started living inside his tempo. He frequently blamed his mother-in-law for his ruined marriage and often fought with her. For the past 5–6 months, his wife had been staying in Borivali for work as a caretaker. The couple had a 22-year-old son and a 23-year-old married daughter.
On Monday at around 8 AM, Krishna visited his mother-in-law and told her he was taking her to the hospital. He made her sit in the tempo and then got inside himself. He shut the tempo's shutter, attacked her on the head with a heavy object, and then poured petrol over her before setting her on fire. The fire quickly engulfed the tempo, severely injuring Krishna as well.
Upon receiving information about the incident, the Navghar Police rushed to the spot with the fire brigade. The team broke open the tempo’s shutter and pulled both victims out. They were rushed to Veer Savarkar Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Navghar Police have registered a case against the deceased son-in-law for murder and attempting to destroy evidence. Further investigations are underway.