Contrary to his claims, Vaishali Kadam's lover Santosh Bhukan himself went to Mahabaleshwar and sent misleading SMSes to her kin, feel cops

The police are is still trying to connect the missing links in the murder of Vaishali Kadam, who was allegedly killed by architect Santosh Bhukan because she wanted him to divorce his wife and marry her.

Investigating officers now feel that Bhukan probably travelled to Mahabaleshwar to send the messages Kadam's relatives reveived from her phone after she had gone missing. Bhukan had initially confessed that he had sent someone to Mahabaleshwar to send the messages from Kadam's phone.

Thorough planning
But the police say that considering the way Bhukan meticulously planned the murder by lacing her drink with sedatives and then burying her in his farmhouse, it was unlikely he would let someone else know his secret.

The messages sent to Kadam's relatives said she had AIDS.

The police feel Bhukan is trying to throw them off track.

"Bhukan had said he hired a person to send SMSes from Kadam's cellphone, for which he paid him Rs 2,000. But looking at the nature of the offence and how he meticulously planned his act, we are also checking out the possibility whether Bhukan travelled to Mahableshwar to send the messages to Kadam's relatives and friends," Police Inspector Prakash Gharge said. "Bhukan had sent four to five SMSes to Kadam's parents, her sister and a few of her friends. But her friends have not approached us."

Marriage demands
The police have seized the car in which he had travelled with Kadam to his farmhouse. The murder came to light on Friday, when Bhukan was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Kadam and confessedu00a0 he had killed Kadam at his farmhouse in Pondhe village near Malshiras.

Vaishali was killed on the night of August 11, after her growing marriage demands made Bhukan realise he might no longer be able to hide their relationship from his wife.

"He had asked the labourers working at his farmhouse site to dig a three-feet-long pit two days in advance," Gharge said. "Bhukan told us he had travelled to his farmhouse to inspect the pit and had taken a nylon rope with him. The rope was used to strangle Kadam."

Bhukan and Kadam were both married with children from their respective spouses. They had had an extramarital affair for two-and-half years. When their relationship was discovered by Kadam's husband, she started living alone with her six-year-old daughter in Lohegaon. Kadam used to work as a front office executive at Bhukan's architectural firm in Narayan Peth.

Police Sub-Inspector Nikam said Kadam had given Bhukan an ultimatum to marry her before Diwali.

"As she kept clamouring for marriage, Bhukan decided to kill her," Nikam said. "He called her and told her to accompany him to his farmhouse in Malshiras."