The Mira Road police on Monday arrested a woman and her lover for allegedly killing her husband on July 15 by mixing 20 sleeping pills in his tea and strangulating him with a rope and smothering him with a pillow. Police said they had tried to kill the man twice in the past, by mixing 10 sleeping pills in his tea, but failed as he didn’t lose consciousness.
Deepti Patankar, 40, stayed with her husband, Pramod, 43, and their child in a seventh floor flat in NG Silver Spring Apartment at Ramdev Park. Deepti worked as a clerk in a Goregaon school, while Pramod worked with a Mumbai-based finance firm.
According to police, Deepti was having an affair with one Samadhan Uddhav Pashankar, 40, a resident of Pashan in Pune, since 2015. “Samadhan would make regular trips from Pune just to meet Deepti. One day, Pramod returned home early, and caught the two in a compromising position,” said police inspector Ram Bhalsinh of Navghar police station.
In front of both their relatives, Deepti apologised and promised to stay away from Samadhan.
“As Pramod went out of station for work, Samadhan started meeting Deepti again. Soon, they hatched a plan to eliminate Pramod,” said Bhalsinh.
The duo then made another plan. On July 15, Deepti sent her daughter to her father’s house in Mira Road. “Around 7.15am, she mixed 20 sleeping pills in Pramod’s tea. As he fell unconscious, Samadhan, who was waiting downstairs came to the flat and took Pramod to the bedroom. Samadhan then strangulated Pramod with a rope, while Deepti held his legs. Samadhan also smothered him with a pillow,” said Bhalsinh.
“Using Deepti’s lipstick, Samadhan left a mark on the cup, and kept two condoms under Pramod’s pillow. He made a mess of the room, and took away Pramod’s mobile and ₹2,000 in cash from his wallet, to trick us.”
The CCTV footage and call data records (CDRs) hinted at Samadhan’s role. However, in her statement to the police, Deepti claimed Pramod had an affair with several women and he brought them home. Suspicious, the police interrogated her further, after which she confessed, said police. “We arrested both under sections 302 (murder) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were produced before the Thane court on Monday and have been remanded in police custody,” said Bhalsinh.
“We will also arrest the pharmacist who gave the 40-odd sleeping pills to Samadhan without a prescription.”