Panvel Police File Murder Case After Autopsy Reveals Electrician Was Strangled

The Navi Mumbai police have registered a murder case after an autopsy revealed that a 28-year-old electrician, whose body was found in a waterlogged pit in Varche Ovle, Panvel, was strangled to death rather than drowned. The body of the deceased, identified as Shubham Pawar, was recovered on July 8 from the pit located behind a water tank near Mahatma Phule College.

Initially, the police had registered an accidental death report. However, the subsequent postmortem examination established that Pawar had been strangled to death, prompting the police to shift the investigation to a homicide case. Following the autopsy results, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on Thursday.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint lodged by the victim's younger brother, Shrikant Pawar. The police suspect Sameer Sheikh, a resident of Pushpak Nagar in Panvel, of killing Pawar. Investigators believe the crime was committed sometime between 9:40 AM on July 7 and 2:00 PM on July 8.

According to the complaint filed by Shrikant Pawar, the motive for the crime stems from an earlier incident. The deceased, Shubham Pawar, had allegedly entered Sheikh’s house while Sheikh's wife was alone. The complainant alleged that Sheikh held a grudge over this incident.

The complainant further alleged that Sheikh strangled Pawar to death and dumped his body in the waterlogged pit to conceal the crime.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole stated that after the body was recovered, it was sent for a postmortem, which established that the victim had been strangled to death. The police are now conducting a homicide investigation targeting the suspect, Sameer Sheikh.