Never Had Physical Relationship: Accused Claims Victim Committed Suicide; Police Say They Were Married

Manoj Sane (56), arrested for allegedly murdering his live-in partner Saraswati Vaidya, has claimed that she committed suicide by drinking poison and he only tried to dispose of her body by chopping it up, police said on Friday.

Sane, arrested on Thursday from Mira Road (East) area on the outskirts of Mumbai, also told the interrogators that he was HIV-positive and never had any physical relationship with the 36-year-old Vaidya, an official said.

She died on the morning of June 3 after consuming poison with foam coming out of her mouth, and fearing that he would be held responsible for her death, he decided to dispose of the body, Sane allegedly told police. He also claimed that after disposing of the body pieces he had planned to commit suicide, the police official said.

Police were yet to verify these claims, he said, adding that it was possible that the accused was trying to mislead the investigators.

On Wednesday, police found Vaidya's body parts, some cooked in pressure cooker and even roasted, inside a flat in Naya Nagar area of Mira Road township in Thane district. She and Sane had been living in the rented flat, according to police. Sane has been remanded in police custody till June 16.

The gory details of the crime evoked the memories of the Shraddha Walkar murder case.

Police, meanwhile, have recorded the statements of Vaidya's three sisters, the official said. The motive behind the crime is still not clear, he said.

It is suspected that Vaidya died on June 4, but the death came to light on June 7 when the couple's neighbours, unable to tolerate the stench coming out of the flat, called police.

Neighbours also told the police that Sane had been feeding stray dogs for the past few days, something he had never done before.