Main accused, wife among 3 held in Kalyan girl kidnapping-murder case; motive unclear yet, say cops

A day after the body of a 12-year-old girl was found following her kidnapping from Kalyan in Maharashtras Thane district, police on Wednesday arrested the main accused in the case along with his third wife and one more person, officials said.The girl was allegedly kidnapped from Kalyan on Monday afternoon, and her body was found on Tuesday morning near Bhiwandi in the district, they said.

A day after the body of a 12-year-old girl was found following her kidnapping from Kalyan in Maharashtra's Thane district, police on Wednesday arrested the ''main accused'' in the case along with his third wife and one more person, officials said.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped from Kalyan on Monday afternoon, and her body was found on Tuesday morning near Bhiwandi in the district, they said. ''The main accused, identified as Vishal Gawli, was apprehended from Shegaon in Buldhana district on Wednesday morning,'' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-III Kalyan) Atul Zende told reporters.

He was arrested by a team of police from Kalyan and is being brought here, the official said.

''Gawli, a bearded man, was at his in-laws' place in Buldhana, and he was picked up when he was stepping out of a saloon after getting his beard shaved in a bid to conceal his identity,'' he said. The third wife of the prime accused and one more person have also been arrested in connection with the crime, the police said. ''His wife, Sakshi Gawli, who works in a bank, was arrested on Wednesday. Following her arrest, she was produced before a local magistrate, who remanded her in police custody for two days,'' the police official said. ''The girl was kidnapped at around 4 pm on Monday when she was playing outside her house at Kolsewadi in Kalyan town. Her body was found near the wall of a graveyard at Bapgaon near Bhiwandi at about 10 am on Tuesday,'' Zende said.

The motive behind the murder was not clear yet, he said, adding that the police have so far interrogated around 10 persons, including the relatives and friends of the accused.

A police official earlier said they were waiting for the post-mortem report and if rape is confirmed, other legal sections will be added to the case.

An autorickshaw used in the crime has also been seized by police, he said.

The police were examining various CCTV footages and also investigating if more persons were involved in the crime, he said, adding the probe into the case was being conducted from all angles.

Gawli was a resident of Kolsewadi and earlier also some criminal cases, including property-related offences, were registered against him, the official said.

''Our priority is to first put the accused behind bars and later take stock of all the cases against him,'' he said.

Asked if the accused, who had married three times, was a pervert, the official said a probe was also on in that direction.

The girl's parents had lodged a missing person complaint at Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan on Monday evening after searching for her for several hours.

Police initially registered an FIR under section 137 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched a search to trace the girl.

After the body was found, BNS section 103(1) (murder) was added to the case, Kolsewadi's senior police inspector Ashok Kadam told PTI. ''We are waiting for the postmortem report and if rape is detected, other penal sections will be added to the FIR,'' Kadam said. Meanwhile, hundreds of locals with their mouths covered with a black cloth took out a protest march in Kolsewadi area of Kalyan (East) and carried banners and placards demanding stringent action against the accused. Local citizens, most of them women, demanded capital punishment for the accused.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)