THANE: The discovery of two blood-soaked dead bodies inside a parked cab near Badlapur on Thursday took an even more horrifying turn when the police learnt that the only eyewitness was a four-year-old boy who allegedly watched his mother being killed before leading his family members to the vehicle.
The Badlapur police found the bodies of a woman and a cab driver inside a car at Joveli village off the Neral-Badlapur Road. Both bodies bore multiple deep stab wounds, and investigators suspect it could be a case of murder followed by suicide, with the man allegedly killing the woman before turning the weapon on himself.
The deceased cab driver has been identified as Ganesh Shinde, a resident of Ghatkopar, while the woman was a resident of a village near Badlapur. Police said the woman’s husband runs a tea stall business in Ghatkopar, where Shinde also lived.
The most startling aspect of the case was the presence of the woman’s four-year-old son inside the vehicle during the incident. According to investigators, the child escaped unhurt despite being in the car when the violence unfolded.
Police said the boy later stepped out of the vehicle and stopped a passing motorcyclist for help. He was taken home, where he informed family members about what had happened. Relatives rushed to the spot and alerted the police.
During preliminary questioning, the child allegedly told investigators that the cab driver attacked his mother with a sharp weapon and later stabbed himself inside the vehicle.
Responding officers found the two bodies lying in pools of blood inside the cab. The murder weapon was recovered from the scene and has been seized for forensic examination. Both bodies have been sent for postmortem to establish the exact sequence of events and cause of death.
Nitin Patil, senior police inspector of Badlapur Police Station, said the cab driver and the woman were known to each other. “Shinde had come from Ghatkopar and picked up the woman and her son from their residence, located a few kilometres from the crime scene, at around 3 pm on Thursday. We have registered a case of murder. Further investigation is underway to determine the nature of their relationship and the motive behind the crime,” Patil said.
Investigators are now piecing together the final hours leading up to the killings. While forensic experts combed the crime scene for evidence, the police cyber cell has begun analysing the digital and technical footprints of both the deceased to establish their movements, communications and possible motive.
