On New Year’s Day, police were alerted about a woman with severe head and facial injuries lying near the Waldhuni bridge in Kalyan area of Thane district, officials said
An official described the crime as premeditated and driven by greed. Representational Pic/File
A 60-year-old woman from Maharashtra’s Thane district has been arrested for allegedly murdering her daughter-in-law following a dispute over railway employment on compassionate grounds and gratuity money, police said on Saturday, reported the PTI.
On New Year’s Day, police were alerted about a woman with severe head and facial injuries lying near the Waldhuni bridge in Kalyan.
The victim was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Case initially registered as accidental death
An Accidental Death Report (ADR) was initially registered at the Mahatma Phule Chowk police station, and the body was sent for post-mortem examination, officials said.
According to the PTI, the case took a turn when Latabai Natha Gangurde, the victim’s mother-in-law, approached the police claiming that her daughter-in-law, Rupali Vilas Gangurde (35), had been missing since 8 am. She later identified Rupali as the woman found dead near the bridge.
However, inconsistencies in her statement prompted a crime branch team, led by Inspector Vijay Naik, to question her further.
Dispute over gratuity and railway job
Police said Rupali’s husband Vilas Gangurde, a railway employee, died in September 2025. After his death, Rupali received Rs 9-10 lakh in gratuity, which Latabai allegedly demanded.
A dispute also arose over Vilas’s railway job on compassionate grounds. Latabai reportedly wanted her 15-year-old grandson to be considered for the post, while Rupali had applied for the job herself, reported the PTI.
Conspiracy and murder
Investigators said Latabai allegedly conspired with her friend Jagdish Mahadev Mhatre (67) to kill Rupali. On the night before the body was found, the duo allegedly attacked Rupali with an iron rod, killing her on the spot, as per the PTI.
After the murder, the accused allegedly cleaned bloodstains, changed the victim’s clothes, and dumped the body near the bridge to mislead investigators.
Police crack case within 24 hours
Kalyan Division Assistant Commissioner of Police Kalyanji Gete described the crime as premeditated and driven by greed.
“This was a cold-blooded crime motivated by money and control over a government job. The accused tried to mislead the investigation by filing a missing person report for the woman they had murdered. Our team solved the case within 24 hours,” he said, the news agency reported.
Latabai Gangurde and Jagdish Mhatre have been arrested on charges of murder and causing disappearance of evidence, police added.
(with PTI inputs)
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