Mumbai:
After being on the run for six days, authorities finally nabbed the army man accused of killing his wife from Bandra railway terminus yesterday. Mahipal Singh, the accused, was ready to board the train to his hometown in Rajasthan when officials from the Crime Branch arrested him.
Officials say they nabbed Singh after tracking his mobile phone and realised that he was planning to flee to Rajasthan to escape the authorities on his trail. "We were tracking his phone and realised that he was in constant touch with a friend. We contacted the friend and asked him to help us in our investigation. The friend agreed and told us that Singh had asked him to arrange money for him and also a train ticket back home."
Using the information, the officials laid a trap to arrest Singh. Dressed in civilian clothes, they patrolled Bandra terminus and many of them disguised themselves as coolies and passengers. "At 1 pm, Singh arrived at the station to board his train. We immediately arrested him and have handed him over to Vakola police for further investigation," added senior police inspector Deepak Fatangare.
Motive behind crimeOn his transfer to the Vakola police, Singh confessed to his crime. Cops say Singh murdered his wife over a tussle they had after he had one drink too many. "On the day of the murder, Singh and his wife Anju had a fight because she had thrown away his bottles of alcohol. Reeling under the influence of alcohol, Singh strangled his wife, using the basic techniques taught during his army training," said API Gawde.
Cops added that after he had strangled his wife last Tuesday, Singh was in the city roaming the streets and visiting the beaches. Before his attempt to flee the city, he was holed up in a guest house at Meghwadi.
MurderOn March 13, Singh killed his wife at their residence in Kalina Military camp and then escaped from the spot. When their nine-year-old son returned from school he discovered his mother's body lying on the bedroom bed.