Woman sanitation worker killed inside Wadarwadi gram panchayat office in Ahilyanagar; man held

A woman was murdered inside the Wadarwadi gram panchayat office in the Bhingar area of Ahilyanagar, sending shock through the locality. The incident took place on Tuesday (the 27th) morning in the sarpanch's room of the gram panchayat. The victim has been identified as Anita Devidas Alkute, 42, a resident of Tagadkarwasti in Wadarwadi, Bhingar.

Bhingar Camp police have registered a murder case against the accused, Santosh Nana Dhotre, also a resident of Wadarwadi, and have arrested him. He is accused of repeatedly harassing the woman out of one-sided love and finally killing her by striking her on the head with an iron water valve.

The victim's son, Yogesh Devidas Alkute (26), has lodged the complaint with the police. According to the complaint, Anita Alkute had been working as a sanitation worker with the Wadarwadi gram panchayat for about 20 years. Dhotre works on the gram panchayat's garbage vehicle, so the two knew each other.

The complaint says that about a month earlier Anita had told her son Yogesh that Dhotre kept telling her he loved her and harassed her without reason when she refused. Yogesh and his mother then spoke to Dhotre and tried to make him see reason.

On Friday (the 23rd), at about 9.30 am, Anita was on her way to work as a labourer. According to the complaint, Dhotre abused and assaulted her near Kaveri Hospital. Anita returned home and told her son. Dhotre was again spoken to at that time, but no police complaint was filed.

On Tuesday at about 7 am, Anita went to work at the Wadarwadi gram panchayat office as usual. At 10.18 am, Yogesh was at home when he received a phone call from his cousin-uncle Suraj Tagadkar, who said: come quickly to the gram panchayat office, Santosh Dhotre has killed your mother.

On hearing this, Yogesh ran to the gram panchayat office. There he found his mother lying in a pool of blood in the sarpanch's room with a deep head wound. A blood-stained iron water valve lay near her head.

In his complaint, Yogesh has cited the harassment of his mother over one-sided love and the earlier assault. He has alleged that Dhotre struck his mother on the head with the iron valve and killed her. Camp police are investigating further.