Search for MBBS student Sadichcha Sane’s body after Mithu Singh confessed to killing her and throwing the body into the sea.
Sane’s mobile has remained switched off since she went missing almost 14 months ago and the ATM card that she had has also not been used since then.
The crime branch had arrested Singh and Abdul Ansari, who had spoken with Singh when he was with Sane at the bandstand.
The accused was arrested after a case of kidnapping was registered in the case and confessed to the crime during interrogation, a crime branch official said.
A case has been registered under Sections 201(causing disappearance of evidence of the offense, or giving false information to screen offender) and 302 (murder) of the IPC against the accused.
What was Mithu Singh’s Version
The lifeguard on duty, Mittu Singh said he saw her and suspecting that she might attempt suicide, followed her.
“Noticing that I was following her, Sane told me that she was not there to end her life. We then started chatting and sat on a rock till 3.30 am. During this period, I clicked four selfies with her in my mobile phone while Sane took one selfie in her phone with me,” Singh said in his statement to the police.
He further said, “She talked about her school and college life, also about her friends. I just listened to her and at 3:30 am she asked me to leave, saying her friend was coming to meet her. So, I left the place.”As she did not return home and her mobile phone was switched off, Sane’s father lodged a missing person complaint with the Bandra police on November 30. The case was transferred to the crime branch unit 9 in December.
Police checked the footage of all CCTV cameras installed at the Bandstand and adjoining areas, but she was not seen anywhere returning from the seashore. Her mobile phone was switched off, and there were no calls, messages, or internet activity on her phone thereafter.
At that time, the police also questioned several people and more than 100 auto drivers but did not get any leads. Also, there was no transaction or withdrawal from her bank account after her disappearance.
Investigations on but motive not clear
Seven months after an MBBS student went missing at Bandstand, the sessions court recently authorized the Mumbai police crime branch to conduct a narco analysis test on a 30-year-old lifeguard Mithu Singh who was last seen with the girl.
“During his interrogation, the accused told the police that he had killed Sane and dumped her body near the Bandstand,” the official said.
After this revelation, the Mumbai crime branch team and Indian Navy divers on Friday conducted a search operation in the Bandstand area for several hours to locate Sadichha Sane’s remains, he said. “The search operation started in the morning,” the official said, adding the investigators were also using other mechanisms to trace Sane’s body.
Police are probing the motive behind Sane’s killing, he added.
