How Navi Mumbai police established that API Ashwini Bidre-Gore's killer was none other than her lover and fellow cop, Abhay Kurundkar, all on the basis of a Whatsapp message
Ashwini Bidre-Gore had gone missing on April 11, 2016, but Kurundkar tried to make it seem she was alive and texting on April 14
Abhay Kurundkar had sent a text message to cover up the murder of his lover and fellow cop Ashwini Bidre-Gore, but instead his plan did a complete U-turn and backfired on him. The police realised that the cover-up message was sent by Abhay when they saw that he had written 'Y' instead of you, whereas Ashwini would always write 'U'.
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Backstory
Abhay, a senior inspector with the Thane Rural police, had allegedly lured Ashwini away from her family with promises of marriage, but when she asked him to make good on the promise, he killed her. He, along with three others, was arrested by the Navi Mumbai police on the charge of abduction and murder. mid-day accessed the supplementary charge-sheet filed by the cops, which mentions how suspicion grew over Abhay's role.
Cops spent months searching for Bidre's body, to no avail. File pic
The subtle clues
Ashwini had gone missing on April 11, 2016, but her brother-in-law Avinash Gangapure received a WhatsApp message from her number on the evening of April 14, 2016. The message stated that she was facing some mental health issues, and was going to Uttaranchal or Himachal Pradesh for meditation and treatment for five to six months.
But when the police studied the message, they found a tell-tale sign of deception — the word you had been written as 'Y', a habit of Abhay's. "When we checked all the facts and conducted a technical analysis of their chats, audio files and video messages over one-and-a-half years, we found a major difference," said a cop close to the investigation, adding, "Ashwini was fluent in English, but had the habit of using slang while chatting. She always used the letter 'U' instead of you. On the other hand, Abhay would write 'Y'."
This style of writing was verified with close relatives, friends and four others, who all confirmed Abhay's habit of writing Y. Ashwini's relatives told the police that she never used Y in place of you. "Though we had technical evidence to prove that Abhay was with Ashwini on the day of her disappearance, this is how we established that he had sent the message to create the illusion that she was alive and texting several days later," added the officer.
4
No. of accused arrested for murdering Bidre-Gore
18
No. of months' worth of communication analysed
The message
'Hi dear, how r y, Y know my bacchii is not coming with me. I am living alone in mumbai. Due to my worst mental and physical condition I am suffering lot of problems. I completed ten days medication course. At that time I was under control. Now a days due to my baby I again feeling bad. No one is here to take my care. I decided to take more long day medication for my health. I am going to north indian states himachal Pradesh or uttarakhand for meditation for five to six months. I will contact u. I am going to delhi today. I parked my maruti at kharghar station. [sic]'
Family meets CP
API Ashwini Bidre-Gore's husband Raju Gore and brother Anand Bidre met Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar on Thursday afternoon to discuss the investigation and demand that the former CP Hemant Nagarale be booked for delaying the probe.
Also Read: Ashwini Bidre Murder Case: Cops Tracing Body Hit A Dead End
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