As the deadline to file a charge sheet in connection with the murder of the MBBS student at Bandstand approaches, the Mumbai Crime Branch’s Unit 09 made its fourth attempt to locate her remains. They hope to find the body to strengthen their case, which is based solely on circumstantial evidence, and present it convincingly in court.

In their fourth attempt, the crime branch on Thursday excavated an area located behind accused Mithu Singh’s residence at Bandstand, Bandra. Sources told mid-day that a team from Unit 09, along with its in-charge, was seen at the location with hoes and other equipment to dig the area. “Around five to 10 officers were present for nearly two hours, digging up the open space that is actually a small garden where children usually play. They dug up the area and then covered it back with soil,” said a source from Bandstand.

Nothing so far

Sources revealed that during the investigation, the crime branch has spared no effort to locate the remains of the 22-year-old MBBS student, but to no avail. The officers conducted an extensive search in the sea at a location where Singh claimed to have disposed of her body.

Mithu Singh

Indian Navy divers and private divers conducted searches for nearly a week, but found nothing. The crime branch also carried out hydrographic surveys and electromagnetic spectrum searches in the sea, but these searches also yielded no results. Additionally, the police obtained Google images of the day when she allegedly disappeared, but nothing significant was found.

Also read: Murder case: ‘MBBS girl, accused met twice before murder’

Another version by accused

Sources have also revealed that in his statement, Singh claimed to have dumped the body in the sea where the drainage system of the Taj Lands End hotel is let out. He also mentioned that at that particular location, large fish come in search of food, and hence he dumped the body there. Therefore, it is highly probable that these fishes could have consumed her remains.

Prior to this, the police conducted searches in the marshy land at Bandstand and the large rocks near the sea, but no evidence was found. “We are leaving no stone unturned to locate the deceased’s remains as we strongly believe that she was murdered and her body was either dumped in the sea or in a nearby area at Bandstand,” an officer told mid-day.

A few more days left

The Mumbai police’s crime branch has a deadline of April 11 to file the charge sheet in connection with the murder, which they are expected to file on either April 9 or 10. The police have stated that they plan to conclude the charge sheet under the rare Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act, which places the burden of proving a fact on a specific person if they have knowledge of it.

The MBBS student had been missing since November 2021, and the case was initially investigated by the Bandra police. A kidnapping case was registered against an unknown person, and the case was later transferred to crime branch Unit 09. After a year of investigation, the crime branch arrested Singh and his childhood friend Abdul Jabbar Ansari on charges of murder.

The police claimed that the accused confessed to the murder during custodial interrogation. The police also said they found bloodstains on a buoy used to allegedly dump the body, but the samples did not match her father’s DNA.

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