Teacher arrested for killing Chandrapur woman, body found buried in house in Hingna

Police have arrested a teacher, Santosh Sakharkar, in a murder case linked to Chandrapur and Nagpur. He is accused of killing his girlfriend in Chandrapur and burying the body in his vacant house in Hingna, Nagpur. Technical investigation and call detail records led police to the case.

According to police, the victim has been identified as Vaishali Vilas Tipley, 45, a resident of Chandrapur. The accused is Santosh Bhagwan Sakharkar, 49, who is said to be a teacher by profession. Police say the two were in a relationship.

According to the investigation, the two had an argument over some matter on October 14. It is alleged that during this, Santosh struck Vaishali on the chest with a heavy object, and she died in the attack. After the incident, he allegedly hid the body in the boot of his car. According to the allegation, the body stayed in the boot for about 24 hours.

It is alleged that on October 15, Santosh took the body in the car from Chandrapur to Hingna. His house in the Aadhar Nagari area of Hingna had been lying vacant for several years. He allegedly dug a pit in a room at the back of the house, buried the body and laid flooring over the pit to avoid suspicion. He then returned to Chandrapur.

Police say that on the way back, the accused threw Vaishali's mobile phone into a railway tunnel so that police would find no clue in the investigation.

Chandrapur police began an investigation after receiving a complaint that Vaishali was missing. Police reached the accused on the basis of leads linked to the mobile phone and the call detail records. According to police, Santosh admitted to the murder during questioning and said the body was buried in the house in Hingna.

On the night of October 17, Chandrapur police took the accused to Hingna. Excavation began at the spot he indicated, in the presence of local police and the tehsil administration. The entire operation was also video recorded. Vaishali's body was taken out of the pit at about 1.30 am. After the panchnama was drawn up, the body was handed over to Chandrapur police.

Despite the alleged attempt to evade police by hiding the body in the manner of the film 'Drishyam', the case was cracked through technical evidence and the police investigation. Police are now taking further legal action against the accused and are also looking into other aspects of the case.