Jewellery Pouch Clue Helps Police Crack Gruesome Murder Case Within 24 Hours

Mira Bhayandar: Less than 24 hours after they recovered the dismembered body parts of an unidentified woman near Pirkunda Dargah in Virar, the crime branch unit (Zone III) cracked the blind murder case by not only ascertaining the identity of the deceased but also arrested the killer who turned out to be her husband.

About The Case

The gruesome crime is said to be the fallout of frequent domestic quarrels between the couple. The woman’s severed head was found inside a travel bag and dismembered body parts stuffed in a gunny bag at around 6 pm on Thursday (13, March). While inspecting the crime scene, a team led by police inspector Shahuraj Ranaware found an empty pouch printed with the name of a local jewellery showroom.

The team contacted the showroom owner and got clues about a Mumbai-based woman. However, the investigations hit a dead end after the police learnt that the woman no longer stayed at the address. The team sourced out information about her native village and contacted her relatives living in West Bengal. This turned out to be a major breakthrough as the relatives revealed that Utpala Hippargi (51) who stayed with husband Harish Baravraj Hippargi (49) in Nallasopara was incommunicado for the past two months.

The police immediately took Harish into custody from the Rehmat Nagar area of Nallasopara. In his confessional statement Harish who hails from Karnataka and is an imitation ornament artisan said that he was fed with the regular quarrels with his wife. After strangling his wife to death at 3 am on 8, January, he cut off her head and dismembered other body parts before dumping them at two different locations near the Pirkunda Dargah.

An offence under sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has been registered at the Manvi police station against Harish who has been remanded to police custody. Senior police inspector Sanjay Hazare is conducting further investigations.