In Kalyan, investigators have discovered that the CCTV cameras at the farmhouse where a 22-year-old married woman was reportedly gang-raped are missing their digital video recorder (DVR). This absence has led to suspicions that the DVR may have been removed after the alleged incident. The police identified the missing device during a spot panchnama, a formal procedure conducted at the scene as part of their ongoing investigation.
CCTV cameras were installed at the farmhouse, but the DVR that stored the footage was not found, according to police sources. Thane rural police have formed six teams to trace the two accused and are checking their possible hideouts and movements. Investigators have also placed the mobile phone numbers of the two accused, as well as some of their close associates, under surveillance to track their locations and movements. Two police teams had also reached Mumbai airport while searching for the accused, following information that they could potentially leave the city. However, the police did not find either of the accused there. Investigators are examining whether the DVR was deliberately removed and whether its disappearance was an attempt to tamper with or destroy evidence related to the case. The FIR was registered by Padgha police after the woman approached Congress’s KDMC group leader Kanchan Kulkarni, who helped her get the FIR registered. The woman alleged she was taken to a farmhouse in Bapgaon, where the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her at gunpoint. Police are continuing efforts to trace the two accused.
Police Pursue Key Suspects in Evidence Tampering Case
Authorities are intensifying their efforts to locate and apprehend former BJP MLA Narendra Pawar and dismissed police officer Shailesh Patil. Both individuals have been identified as suspects in an ongoing investigation and are currently evading capture.
In light of the investigation’s developments, police are also contemplating the addition of charges related to the destruction or tampering of evidence. However, the immediate focus remains on securing the arrest of Pawar and Patil, who are crucial to the case.