Raigad murder mystery cracked in a record 12 hours – thanks to a single mobile number that led investigators straight to the culprit. The swift and efficient police action has brought justice and showcased the power of digital forensics.
Raigad police solved the Raigad murder case in just 12 hours using a mobile number found in a diary, leading to the arrest of three suspects involved in the brutal revenge killing.
Navi Mumbai: Based only on a mobile number discovered in a little diary, the Raigad police quickly investigated and solved a murder case within 12 hours after finding a decomposing body discarded in a remote jungle in Mhasla taluka in the Raigad district.
On March 17, people on the Pangalila-Band Wadi route noticed a bad smell coming from a roadside ditch close to the Humbharvanya stream. Villagers saw a hand sticking out of a gunny sack upon closer examination and promptly called the local police.
The sack was taken from the ditch by a squad from the Mhasla police station, which was commanded by Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sandeep Kahale. We discovered a man’s body inside, bound with wire. According to API Kahale, “the corpse was decomposed and had deep injury marks, indicating a brutal murder.”
Raigad Murder: Cracking the Case in Record Time
Officers found a little diary with a mobile number in it while searching the victim’s possessions. This one hint became the key to the investigation because there were no other identifying documents.
Police were able to link the number to a contractor who supplied labor for small-scale road repairs along the Ratnagiri border by using technical surveillance. On March 18, a special police team was sent out to find and question him because they suspected he was involved.
During the Raigad murder investigation, the police team interrogated two labourers—Vishal Devkatkar and Shyamsunder More—who confessed to the crime. They revealed that the murder was an act of revenge. A month earlier, the victim, later identified as Badshah alias Umesh Paswan, had allegedly assaulted one of the accused during a personal dispute. Seizing the opportunity on the eve of Holi, when Paswan was heavily intoxicated, the accused brutally beat him to death.
The two told their contractor, Santosh Sawant, everything they had done after committing the crime. Sawant decided to conceal the crime rather than report it. Assuming no one would ever find it, he carried the body onto a two-wheeler, packed it inside a gunny sack, and drove about 25 kilometers by himself before dropping it in the isolated jungle.
With their confessions secured, the police booked all three accused in the Raigad murder case under Section 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), and arrested them. The accused were produced before the Shrivardhan Court, which granted them remand until March 24. “The entire case hinged on one small but crucial piece of evidence—the mobile number. By efficiently tracing its owner and methodically interrogating suspects, we were able to crack the case in record time,” API Kahale stated.
