15 December,2010 06:22 AM IST | | Shiva Devnath
Residents of Gorai building say Gaikwad and a housewife spent several nights alone together; the latter denies having an affair with him
NEIGHBOURS of Ketki Patil (45, name changed), a housewife from Gorai, have confirmed that Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Baburao Gaikwad made regular late-night visits to her house and had an affair
with her.
Patil says she was Gaikwad's friend and claims that she met him only in the presence of her husband
The Dahisar police are also investigating the blackmail angle and questioning Patil after Gaikwad's call records revealed that out of the 29 calls made to him a few minutes before and after he committed suicide, most were made by her.
Patil's neighbours said she and Gaikwad were often spotted staggering into or out of her house drunk. "Gaikwad made regular visits to Patil's house even when her husband was away.
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The duo used to come to the building in the middle of the night and make loud noises that disturbed our sleep," said a neighbour on condition of anonymity.
Another neighbour said the ACP used to spend nights in Patil's house and the couple often had very loud fights.
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"One night, the couple had a fight in the compound of the building where they raised their voices and abused each other. We witnessed the fightas I woke up with a start because their voices were so loud," he said.
"Patil's husband also accompanied the couple a few times but, for the most part, it used to be only Gaikwad and Ketki," he added.
Additional Commissioner of Police Ramrao Pawar said that Gaikwad's family members are disturbed and the police have not been able to take the statements.
"We have recorded Patil's statement, in which she has said she is just a family friend of the Gaikwads. We will only be able to verify that when we record the statements of Gaikwad's family members," said Pawar.
The Other Side
Patil denied all the allegations and claimed that she was just a family friend of the Gaikwads. "Whenever we went out, my husband always accompanied us.
Gaikwad always came to my house in the presence of my husband," she said.
When asked about the phone calls made by her to Gaikwad, Patil said, "We had to go out on the fateful day and that is why I made a few calls to him.
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After the news broke on television about his suicide, I was shocked and made the remaining calls to his mobile phone in the hope that it was untrue. I have told everything to the police."
The tragedy
ACP Baburao Gaikwad of the Dahisar division committed suicide after coming back from a meeting with senior police officers around 2.45 pm on Monday.
Gaikwad asked an orderly for his revolver, closed the door, raised the 9 mm calibre revolver to his temple and pressed the trigger.
Police began investigating the blackmail angle after it was revealed that Gaikwad had received 29 calls on his cellphone minutes before his death.
MiD DAY was the first to report that Gaikwad was allegedly being blackmailed by a woman and her husband from Gorai.
He allegedly sent Rs 25,000 to the couple every month to prevent his sex tapes from being released.
