Nashik: More than a month after an 85-year-old widow from Karanji village went missing, Jalgaon police on Sunday arrested her nephew for allegedly murdering her and dumping her body to rob her of cash and jewellery.
Police said the accused, Prashant Mali (38), a private cab driver, killed his maternal aunt, Vaijayanti Mali (85), on Aug 3 and later tried to mislead both her family and police by denying that he had even visited the village on the day she disappeared. The crime came to light after Vaijayanti’s relative, Bhaiyasaheb Rokade, filed a missing person complaint with the Parola police on Aug 9. As suspicion grew, family members examined CCTV footage from the village and found Prashant speaking to his aunt outside her house on Aug 3.
Dhivare said the accused admitted that he had murdered the elderly woman, who regarded him as her son, for her money and jewellery before dumping her body at an isolated location. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime. Police later recovered her remains.
Acting on the complaint, Parola police tracked down and detained Prashant on Sunday.