Body of a 45-year-old HIV positive woman was found in Dr Death Santosh Pol's ancestral home in Ghom village; suspected to be of a widow, who lived opposite the house
Pune: Days after the trail of murders committed by Santosh Pol — Satara’s Dr Death — were unearthed, the body of one of his missing victims, a 45-year-old HIV positive woman was found buried from his ancestral home in Ghom village. His involvement is suspected in three more cases of missing victims, the police have claimed before the court.
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Santosh Pol’s custody has been extended till August 25 (right) Cops believe the body is of Vanita Gaikwad, murdered in 2006
The body is believed to be of Vanita Narhari Gaikwad, who was a widow and HIV positive. She was murdered on August 12, 2006. She lived opposite the spot where the body was found. Yesterday, the entire forensic team from Mumbai and the police dug the house premises and found the body. A process of inquest and autopsy is going on. According to police, Pol has confessed to killing six people, including five women, between 2003 and 2016.
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“It is believed to be that of Gaikwad. It will be confirmed once the forensic report comes,” said Vijay Pawar, Additional Superintendent of Police, Satara. Gaikwad used to live a few houses away from the spot where her body was buried.
Sanjay Patil, Superintendent of Police, Satara said, “Pol is fabricating the case and misleading us. Initially, he told us that he had thrown Vanita’s body. He claimed to have thrown it in the Dhom dam on Krishna River. He misled us by saying that the body was found in Umbraj in Karad district. Our team inspected the spot and contacted the police.”
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“There was an unidentified dead body there, but it did not belong to Vanita. Later, while our team was inspecting Ghom village, where he said he buried Surekha Chikane in 2003 in the backyard of his house, we dug the entire premises and found another body. Then, he confessed to burying Vanita’s body in the house.”
He added, “Of the six new missing complaints, prima facie we can see Pol’s involvement in three of the cases which are yet to be detected. We are probing the case.”
Custody extended
On Friday, Pol and his trainee nurse Jyoti Mandhare were produced before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) court, where the assistant public prosecutor Bhimrao Deshmukh argued, “Pol is misleading and not co-operating in the case. In this case there are around five vehicles that need to be recovered, of which two have been recovered.” Pol (42), who claims to have a BAMS degree in electropathy, was arrested last week in connection with the murder of a woman anganwadi worker, Mangala Jedhe.
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The police is probing the authenticity of his degree. Several families in the area have approached police about missing persons in and around Wai, saying they fear foul play.
Deshmukh added, “Jedhe’s (Pol’s victim, social worker Mandara Jedhe) family claims that she had worn around 10 tolas of gold when she went missing and it seems that Pol has stolen it. The gold is yet to be recovered. The motive of the crime is unclear and considering the heinousness of it, his custody is essential to gain more details.” The duo has been remanded in police custody till August 25.
Pol escorted home
Meanwhile, a large posse of police escorted Pol to his house where the work of digging started in the presence of witnesses and the police patil of the village. With curiosity gripping Satara, the entire village has been gathering around the house to see police recover the remains of the victims.
— With inputs from Agencies
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