Maharashtra: Man, woman found dead in Morbe dam reservoir, murder case registered

Police have found the dead bodies of man and woman from old Panvel have been found dead in the Morbe dam reservoir near chowk area in Khalapur taluka.

Prima facie, the Khalapur police have registered a murder case as both victims were found to have head injuries due to assault by some heavy object. 

Ganesh Karad, assistant police inspector of Khalapur said, “The victims have been identified as Pandharinath Sakunde (40) and Pratibha Mhatre (40), both are vegetable vendors. It seems like the duo was assaulted on their head with some heavy object and then dumped into the Morbe dam reservoir. Hence, we have registered an FIR against an unidentified accused, under IPC sections 302 for punishment for murder and section 201 for causing disappearance of evidence of offence.”

Senior inspector at the Khalapur police station Bala Kumbhar, said that it was the tribal people of the area who discovered the two bodies floating in the reservoir of the Morbe dam when they went there for fishing. After discovering the dead bodies, they informed the police.

The deceased were identified with the help of the motorcycle parked in the thick growth of tall grass near the dam. The bike's registration number led us to the victim man's residence in Old Panvel. Thereafter, the victim woman was also identified. Police suspect that the two were probably in a relationship.