The wife of noted Marathi drama and film director Dilip Kolhatkar was found dead at their flat at Erandwane on Thursday night. The police have registered a case of murder.
The post-mortem report showed injury marks on 65-year-old Deepali Kolhatkar’s head, said senior inspector Rekha Salunkhe of the Alankar police station. “She was also throttled and beaten up, and there were burn injuries on her body,” she said.
The police had initially registered a case of accidental death but later slapped sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) against the unidentified suspects. The police complaint was lodged by the couple’s son-in-law, Hrushikesh Chandratreya.
Kolhatkar (72), who has directed over 65 Marathi commercial plays and some films, has been living with Deepali and her mother, Asha Sahastrabudhe (85), in the flat at Maithili Apartments near Mhatre bridge for the last few years. A police officer said Kolhatkar has been bedridden for a few years now.
The Kolhatkars’ daughter lives in Karvenagar while their son is in the US. “The family has appointed two caretakers to look after Kolhatkar. One of them works during the day, leaving the flat at 7.30pm, while the other reports to work at 9.30pm,” a police officer said, adding that the murder is suspected to have taken place when none of the caretakers was there in the flat.
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The officer said Deepali’s mother was watching television around 8 pm on Thursday when she heard a loud noise in the flat.
“She rushed to the kitchen to find her daughter lying unconscious on the floor. She alerted the neighbors who took Deepali to Sassoon General Hospital, where the doctors declared her brought dead,” the officer added. The post-mortem of Deepali’s body was done on Friday morning.
“The society does not have CCTV cameras in its premises,” Salunkhe said, adding that there is a lone security guard appointed at the society.
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