Ex-NCP leader son held in dowry-suicide case `victim beaten with plastic pipe'

Pune, May 23 (PTI) Vaishnavi Hagawane (26), who allegedly ended her life due to harassment for dowry, was beaten up with multiple objects including a plastic pipe, the Pimpri Chinchwad Police on Friday told a court as they sought custody of an expelled NCP leader and his son in the case.
Vaishnavi's father-in-law Rajendra Hagawane and brother-in-law Sushil, both of whom were expelled by the Ajit Pawar-led party after their names figured in the FIR, were arrested and produced before a court which remanded them in police custody till May 28.
After being on the run for days, the duo were nabbed from Swargate area while attempting to flee the city, said Vishal Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) of the Pimpri Chinchwad Police.
Police have already arrested Vaishnavi's husband Shashank Hagawane, her mother-in-law Lata and sister-in-law Karishma Hagawane on the charges of dowry death, abetment to suicide, physical assault and criminal intimidation.

Vaishnavi (26) allegedly hanged herself on May 16 at her in-laws' house in the Bavdhan area of Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district.

Her parents alleged they had given 51 tolas (595 gm) of gold, silver and an SUV to her husband's family at the time of marriage, but the Hagawane family harassed her yet, demanding Rs 2 crore to purchase land.

While seeking police custody, the prosecution told the court on Friday that the bruises on the victim's body suggested that she was assaulted with multiple objects including a plastic pipe. The pipe has been recovered, it added.

Considering the injury marks, her parents suspected she might have been murdered by the accused, the prosecution further said, adding that the victim's viscera has been preserved for a chemical analysis and further reports were awaited.
Police need the accused's custody for probing all these angles, it said.
The court then granted Pimpri Chinchwad Police the custody of Rajendra and Sushil Hagawane till May 28.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)