Almost three months after Avdhut Shinde disappeared following the death of his wife Sharmila in their home in The Hague, on May 21, the Dutch police have finally requested the Mumbai police to 'arrest' him. "The revised administrative request sent by the Dutch police via Interpol clearly states: 'Arrest him, and hand him over to Dutch authorities as he is a murder manslaughter suspect'," said a senior police officer from The Hague on condition of anonymity.

We sent our revised request last week to locate and arrest Avdhut. I don't know why the cops there [in Mumbai] are delaying it," the officer said. However, the Mumbai police have been reiterating that they had been told 'only to trace Avdhut' but added that their Dutch counterparts have requested them to record the statements of Avdhut's father and children — possible eyewitnesses in the case.