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India Today
22-04-2025
- India Today
Lapses by cops 'intentional' in murder case of inspector Ashwini Bidre: Court
A sessions court in Mumbai sentenced former senior Police Inspector Abhay Kurundkar, a President award recipient, to life imprisonment for the murder of Assistant Police Inspector Ashwini Bidre-Gore. The court strongly condemned the conduct of investigating officers and noted that there were "intentional lapses" during the investigation and missing person enquiry, calling for stern departmental action against the erring policemen.'It is painful that a lady police officer was brutally murdered and thrown her torso and parts of body in creek, despite police have not stepped into action to take cognisance of this crime promptly though sufficient evidence was before them,' the court K G Paldewar, who passed the judgment on Monday, highlighted that 'those lapses were intentional omissions and shall not be exonerated.' A copy of the judgment has been forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, with instructions to take appropriate action. 'It shall be implemented meticulously based on principle the justice is not only to be done but it is seen to be done, rather than keeping these directions of the court on paper only,' the court a 37-year-old officer with Navi Mumbai police's human rights cell, went missing on April 11, 2016. Her family initially filed a missing complaint, but the case was only registered three months later following a Bombay High Court directive. The court observed that the police delay was deliberate and to the prosecution, Kurundkar murdered Bidre in April 2016 at his residence in Thane after she insisted on marriage. He allegedly dismembered her body, stored it in a refrigerator, and disposed of the parts in Bhayandar creek with help from his the defence's argument that the body was never recovered, the court ruled that the circumstantial evidence was sufficient.'The dead body not being found is not absolute ground to exonerate the offenders,' the court judge noted that Bidre's estranged husband, Raju Gore, had personally approached the then Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale and another officer, Tushar Doshi, to seek registration of a crime against Kurundkar.'Still he had not taken cognisance of his complaint,' the order Paldewar noted, 'It is noticed the entire police machinery has stood behind the accused Kurundkar and Patil to save them from prosecution. Very few police personnel and the officers have come forward to help the family of Ashwini.'According to the judgment, Gore and his daughter were repeatedly insulted and dismissed by the police.'They came back with a feeling that the police department was against lady police officers who have no respect and honour in the department,' the judge noted, ordering the current Navi Mumbai Commissioner to give Gore an audience and take suitable action on his court also pointed out that even after the FIR was filed, lapses continued.'The lapses on the part of these two enquiry officers were intentional, and it warrants suitable action against them,' the court said, adding that earlier police action could have led to stronger evidence against the Paldewar held that 'these lapses and delay by officers cannot be overlooked. These are not pardonable. Thus it warrants stern action against erring officers.' The judgment also criticised officers who investigated the case after the FIR was registered, saying they 'committed serious lapses to save the accused.'The court expressed alarm that even after evidence of Kurundkar's involvement surfaced — including viral videos of intimacy between him and Bidre — he was recommended for the President's medal. 'This issue has serious concerns and ought to be brought to the notice of Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai for further consideration,' the court court found Kurundkar guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. His associates, Kundan Bhandari and Mahesh Phalanikar, were convicted of destroying evidence and sentenced to seven years in prison. The court, however, acquitted Dyandev Patil, citing lack of conclusive Kurundkar had claimed Bidre went for meditation in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the court rejected the claim, citing contradictions in the statements and the Ashwini really intended to go for meditation for a long duration then she ought to have chosen to inform her maid about it and not have asked her to carry out cleanliness the next day,' the court court concluded that Kurundkar had motive, opportunity, and means to commit the murder.'The circumstances against the accused pointing towards his guilt are sufficient to establish the offence of murder even in the absence of the dead body,' it ruled, while clarifying that the case does not fall under the 'rarest of rare' inputs from PTI IN THIS STORY#Mumbai
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Hindustan Times
Ashwini Bidre murder case:Ex-cop Abhay Kurundkar gets life term
NAVI MUMBAI: Former senor police inspector Abhay Shamsundar Kurundkar has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of assistant police inspector Ashwini Bidre nine years ago. The sentence was pronounced by the Panvel Sessions Court in a 410-page order on Monday. Kurundkar, who was posted in Thane when he murdered and dismembered Bidre's body before disposing of it in the Vasai creek, was in a relationship with Bidre at the time. She was posted with the Navi Mumbai police when she was kidnapped and killed. The court on Monday also directed the Navi Mumbai police commissioner to investigate the 'deliberate lapses' by police personnel during the investigation of the initial complaint reporting the victim missing as well as the investigation into the murder. Two other accused in the case, Kundan Bhandari and Mahesh Phalnikar, who helped Kurundkar dispose of Bidre's body, were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. They were ordered to be released immediately as they had completed their prison term while in custody. Additional sessions judge KG Paldewar on Monday described the case as a 'daunting task' for the prosecution, defence and the judiciary. The court acknowledged the brutal nature of the crime but said it did not meet the criteria laid down by the Supreme Court for 'rarest of rare' cases, which can attract the death penalty. 'The murder was certainly brutal but not exceptional enough to warrant the death penalty. The court must also consider the accused's age and potential for reformation. Hence, the accused is sentenced to life imprisonment,' the judge declared to a packed courtroom. The court said the prosecution had established that the accused, a former senior police inspector, had meticulously planned and executed the crime. Kurundkar and Bidre were in a relationship when he kidnapped, murdered and dismembered Bidre's body and disposed of the remains in the Vasai creek. The remains have never been found. On April 11, Kurundkar was convicted under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Along with the co-accused, Bhandari and Phalnikar, he was also found guilty of causing the disappearance of evidence and sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment. All sentences will run concurrently. Kurundkar has also been convicted for offences punishable under Section 364 (kidnapping), 506 (II) (criminal intimidation), 417 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery with intention of cheating), 471 (use of forged documents or electronic record as genuine), and 218 (public servants intentionally framing incorrect record) of the Indian Penal Code. The court has granted Kurundkar the benefit of set-off for the period during which he was in custody, from December 7, 2017, when he was arrested. The trial was conducted in the absence of the victim's body, relying on the doctrine of corpus delicti. The case started with a missing persons report filed on July 14, 2016. A writ petition followed in October 2016, leading to the registration of a criminal case on January 31, 2017. The court expressed serious concern over procedural lapses by the police officers responsible for an inquiry into the missing person's report and subsequent investigation. These were deemed 'intentional' and have been brought to the notice of the Navi Mumbai police commissioner for action. Further, the court addressed a grievance raised by Ashwini Bidre's former husband, Raju Gore, against then police commissioner Hemant Nagrale and another police officer, Tushar Doshi. The court directed the incumbent police commissioner to hear Gore regarding his allegations against the two officers. In a twist to the case, Kurundkar was awarded the President's Medal for Gallantry in 2017, the year he was charged with the crime. Additional sessions judge KG Paldewar on Monday expressed surprise over his nomination for the President's Medal. Calling it 'astonishing', he ordered an inquiry into how such a recommendation was made despite the gravity of the allegations against Kurundkar. In keeping with a statement from Bidre's family, that they did not want any compensation from the accused but would rather receive the salary of the deceased till her retirement, for her daughter's education, court made a recommendation to the Raigad district legal services authority.
