Mumbai: It wasn’t until ten hours later, when police arrested her father and brother, that 21-year-old Aanchal Mamidwar realised her family had killed the man she wanted to marry.
Until then, she’d believed that her family, opposed to her marrying into another caste, may still come around to accepting her and Saksham Tate’s relationship. The couple, both belonging to Nanded district in Maharashtra, had been together for three years.
They had even withstood a period when Saksham was jailed on allegations that Aanchal said she was forced to level against him. Their story came into the spotlight last week, when a video circulated widely on social media. It showed Aanchal sobbing as another person applied vermillion, the Hindu mark of marriage, on her forehead. Next to her was Saksham’s body, on which turmeric was applied before carrying out his last rites.
Aanchal told ThePrint Tuesday she met Saksham in 2022 during Navratri and he sent her an Instagram request in no time. “We began talking and fell in love soon enough,” she said.
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Friends-turned-foes?
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Itwara) Prashant Shinde told ThePrint Saksham and two of Aanchal’s brothers used to be friends.
“Saksham had spent six months in jail under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act. Aanchal’s father, mother and two brothers also served time in jail in relation to the same issue. They were released around a month-and-a-half before the murder,” the DSP said.
Asked about this, Aanchal said she was young when her family forced her into making accusations against Saksham. Acting on her complaint, police allegedly found drugs in his possession and took him into custody. It was later that Aanchal went to a court and gave a statement, saying she was coerced into making a false accusation.
Saksham was eventually set free by an Aurangabad court, which quashed the case against him, she said. “The victim and two of her (Aanchal’s) brothers had lived together for some time after they got out (of jail),” said DSP Shinde.
‘Saksham was threatened for weeks’
In her complaint at the Itwara police station in Nanded, Saksham’s mother Sangeeta said the 20-year-old and Aanchal were in love and wanted to get married. “Since we belonged to the Mahar community, her family was against this relationship. As a result, they had threatened my son with his life weeks before the murder,” Sangeeta said.
DSP Shinde said Aanchal’s family found out that the couple was about to elope. Rs 1 lakh was transferred from Aanchal’s account to Saksham’s days before the murder, he said.
On 27 November, Sangeeta said, Aanchal’s family took Saksham to a local hotel where they drugged him. “They met him around 5pm. They wanted to kill him after giving him weed and mixing drugs in his tea… They made sure he lost his senses, and killed him a while after,” she said.
Saksham was shot three times, and bludgeoned to death with a slab.
Sangeeta said she was at work when her younger son called and asked her to return home immediately. “He (Saksham) was bleeding. He was shot, and his brains were out of his skull,” she told police.
‘Cops encouraged my brother to beat up Saksham’
On the day of the murder, around 11am, Aanchal said her minor brother made a last-ditch effort. He allegedly took her to the Itwara police station and told her to file another complaint against Saksham. When she declined, two police officers allegedly “asked my brother why he doesn’t just beat up Saksham the way that he beats up other people”.
Around 8pm later that night, Aanchal’s family took her for “darshan” to a temple. When she asked why they were going at that hour, Aanchal’s mother allegedly told her that her brothers and Saksham got into a scuffle, because of which the 20-year-old had to get some stitches.
The family stopped to rest for the night at Manwath, 100-odd kilometres from Nanded.
“That’s when police arrived at our home and searched through our stuff. By the time we got back (home), I was told that my father and elder brother were taken by police,” Aanchal said.
She went to the police station, and only then, realised what had happened. “I saw my father in handcuffs and noticed the picture of Saksham on the table. That’s when I realised that Saksham is no more,” she said.
Aanchal said it was clear her family was pretending to like Saksham.
“My father had asked Saksham to change his religion from Buddhism to Hinduism if he was serious about marrying me. Saksham had accepted the offer. A few days later, the entire family gathered on the street and celebrated. The video is all over social media,” she said.
So far, six accused have been taken into custody. Among them are Aanchal’s father Gajanan Mamidwar, mother Jayshree, brother Sahil Thakur, uncle Chetan Mamidwar and two family friends—Somesh Lakhe, Vedant Kundekar.
Her minor brother, also apprehended, has been sent to a juvenile correctional home.
The charges against them are for murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, and provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and The Arms Act.
On Tuesday, Aanchal said she only wants justice for her partner.
“I married him and I have moved into his house after his death. I will now live with his family. I seek justice not only for myself but for Saksham’s family too. All the accused, including my parents and brothers, should be hanged,” she said.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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