Mentally ill woman killed for thwarting sexual advances

AHMEDABAD: A team of Madhavpura police arrested a 40-year-old man for the murder of a woman — who was suffering from mental health issues — below the Shahibaug flyover on May 1. Investigators said the accused had made multiple sexual advances at the woman, and on being rebuffed he bludgeoned her to death. Identification was done on the basis of a sketch, they added.
Madhavpura police said the body of Sangita Dantani, 35, a resident of Rabarivaas in Shahibaug, was found by her brother Vinod at 3am.Vinod had started looking for her when she couldn’t be found at their home. Dantani’s head bore multiple marks of bludgeoning and a blood-spattered concrete block was found near the body.
“On questioning persons who frequented the area below the flyover — Sadhvi Mahapragya Bridge — Hariram, a priest working at a nearby temple, said he had seen a person with his face covered by a handkerchief near the crime spot. On the basis of the description provided by him we got the experts to make a sketch and started a search,” said an investigator.
Officials got a lead on Suresh Bhairva alias Sunil alias Sameer, a native of Rajasthan, who went missing soon after the incident. He was traced and brought to the city on May 16. After his questioning, he was arrested on May 17. Investigators said Suresh had seen Sangita near the bridge at night many times and had tried to approach her. She would throw stones at him or scream. Two days prior to the incident, Suresh had got hold of her but she had slapped him and fled.
“When she came back again early on May 1, Suresh saw her and attacked her with the concrete block. He hit her a few times and fled after realizing that she was dead. He has a few earlier offences registered against him and has been to prison once,” said F N Dama, inspector of Madhavpura police station.