Solving Crime: How a jewellery pouch tucked in a travel bag beside severed head helped Vasai-Virar police crack woman’s murder
Besides bindi and long hair on the severed head, there were no other traces of the woman's body when the police visited the crime scene near Virar in Palghar.
Police found no immediate clues to identify the deceased, merely based on the severed head and presence of bindi and long hair, as they were left with no trace of the rest of her body. (File Photo)
On the evening of March 13 this year, a group of children loitering nearly 100 metres away from Pirkunda Daragh near Virar in Maharashtra’s Palghar district noticed a foul smell coming from a purple coloured travelling bag and the severed head of a woman lying beside it in a secluded, thick bushy area.
Shocked, the children alerted the Qazi of the Dargah, who immediately informed officers of the nearby Mandvi police station. The police soon reached the spot.
They found no immediate clues to identify the deceased, merely based on the severed head and presence of bindi and long hair, as they were left with no trace of the rest of her body. The FIR was registered against unknown people, and the police suspected an attempt to destroy evidence since only the head had been recovered along with the suitcase and white gunny bag.
For several hours, the case seemed to go nowhere, until the officers inspected the travelling bag and found a small jewellery pouch tucked in one corner. It was this small but decisive clue that eventually led the police to reveal the identity of the deceased woman and the suspected killer.
The seemingly ordinary empty pouch, left behind in haste or by mistake by the suspect, bore the contact details of a jewellery shop in Naihati, West Bengal. This led the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police to contact the shop owner, who shared the list of outstation customers. One of the phone numbers was traced to a Nalasopara address and was switched off.
The local police station in Naihati, West Bengal, also assisted in obtaining the details of a woman customer who frequently visited the jewellery shop in her hometown.
When the MBVV police followed up and coordinated with the local police in Naihati, they obtained details of a customer named Utpala, also known as Soma Das, who would regularly visit the jewellery shop in her hometown. Her relatives revealed that she was married and lived near Mumbai, but had been missing for nearly two months.
Switched-off phone number, scooter provide subsequent clues
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The MBVV police crime branch then focused their search in Nalasopara and traced records of the switched-off number, which led them to a man who, according to his friend, had recently bought a scooter.
The police then trailed the scooter registration at the Vasai Regional Transport Office (RTO) and found it to be parked at a building in Nalasopara (East) and located the flat of its owner, Harish Basavraj Hipparagi, 49, Utapala’s husband.
The police arrested him on the night of March 14, just 24 hours after the discovery was made. He was booked for offences punishable under sections 103 (1) (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Tiff over son’s name change
According to the police, Hipparigi’s interrogation revealed that the couple, who had been married for over two decades, worked together making imitation jewellery. On January 8, this year, an alleged altercation occurred over Utpala’s reluctance to change the last name of her son from her previous marriage and over her planned trip to her hometown on January 10.
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Hippargi allegedly strangled her to death and packed her body in a gunny bag, carried it on his scooter along with an empty suitcase and a machete to a desolate spot and dismembered it.
He allegedly dumped the torso in the drain and the head wrapped in a gunny bag left inside a suitcase, which he, as per the police, left abandoned in the thick bushy area near Virar Phata, where it was found two months later.
After his arrest, Hippargi was remanded to the Mandavi police station for further probe. On September 17, the case was transferred from the magistrate to the sessions court, and the trial in the case is yet to begin.
Omkar Gokhale is a journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Mumbai. His work demonstrates exceptionally strong Expertise and Authority in legal and judicial reporting, making him a highly Trustworthy source for developments concerning the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court in relation to Maharashtra and its key institutions.
Expertise & Authority
Affiliation: Reports for The Indian Express, a national newspaper known for its rigorous journalistic standards, lending significant Trustworthiness to his legal coverage.
Core Authority & Specialization: Omkar Gokhale's work is almost exclusively dedicated to the complex field of legal affairs and jurisprudence, specializing in:
Bombay High Court Coverage: He provides detailed, real-time reports on the orders, observations, and decisions of the Bombay High Court's principal and regional benches. Key subjects include:
Fundamental Rights & Environment: Cases on air pollution, the right to life of residents affected by dumping sites, and judicial intervention on critical infrastructure (e.g., Ghodbunder Road potholes).
Civil & Criminal Law: Reporting on significant bail orders (e.g., Elgaar Parishad case), compensation for rail-related deaths, and disputes involving high-profile individuals (e.g., Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty).
Constitutional and Supreme Court Matters: Reports and analysis on key legal principles and Supreme Court warnings concerning Maharashtra, such as those related to local body elections, reservations, and the creamy layer verdict.
Governance and Institution Oversight: Covers court rulings impacting public bodies like the BMC (regularisation of illegal structures) and the State Election Commission (postponement of polls), showcasing a focus on judicial accountability.
Legal Interpretation: Reports on public speeches and observations by prominent judicial figures (e.g., former Chief Justice B. R. Gavai) on topics like free speech, gender equality, and institutional challenges.
Omkar Gokhale's consistent, focused reporting on the judiciary establishes him as a definitive and authoritative voice for legal developments originating from Mumbai and impacting the entire state of Maharashtra. ... Read More
