The headless and naked body of a Goregaon woman, who was in early 30s, was found in a Matheran lodge early Sunday. Her male companion who had given fake names for them at the lodge register is missing.
The victim, identified as Poonam Pal, was killed with a sharp weapon, police said, adding that her head is yet to be found. The killer fled with all her clothes and belongings to hide her identity, cops said.
Since the couple was caught on CCTV wearing Covid mask and the lodge didn’t take any identity proof like Aadhaar from them, the probe was initially delayed, but then police found a handbag.
Medical prescription helps cops identify victim
Raigad district police said they found her handbag about 50 metres from the lodge. Based on a medical prescription from Goregaon they found in the bag, when the investigators called up Goregaon police, they were informed that a missing person complaint had been lodged by the family of Poonam Pal.
The lodge owner, Ketan Ramane, found the body when he went to their room for morning service. The couple was caught on CCTV cameras of Dasturi Naka entry point entering Matheran Saturday evening. The Dasturi naka CCTV does not show the suspect leaving, which means he took a different route to flee, police said. His identity is still not clear. Matheran police have formed five teams to looking for the suspect and also find the woman’s head. Three teams with Mumbai police and two teams of Raigad police are positioned in the upper and lower areas of Matheran for investigation.
“The woman’s body has been taken to Panvel sub-district hospital for postmortem,” said Dr Rupali Misal, medical officer, BJ Hospital, Matheran. “Most of the locals’ livelihood is dependent upon the lodging business. Most of the lodges are illegal in terms of obtaining permission, CCTVs and security, following minimum compliances, etc. License and other compliances checking are ignored completely by police and administrative authorities,” said a Matheran resident. “Police have convened a meeting of all lodge owners wherein minimum compliance will be rolled out. The lodge owner’s permission details are being tracked,” said Surekha Bhanage, chief officer Matheran municipal council.
Surjitt Sahani
