THANE: Over two months after a 29-year-old waitress in a bar was murdered during the lockdown in May, the
city police
on Tuesday arrested three of her siblings from Daighar. Those arrested include Natha Ashok Patil, 31, Bhagwan Ashok Patil, 24 and Balaji Ashok Patil, 20, while a fourth sibling, Pandurang Ashok Patil, is absconding.
Police said the victim Pratibha Mhatre, 29, got married in 2009. She later got divorced and moved into her parental home. “The victim used to go out without informing her family members and worked as a waitress in a beer bar. Her brothers reprimanded her as it was bringing them social disrepute. They had also asked her to stay separately,” said a police officer.
Police said she had left the house for a fortnight without informing anyone. This triggered a spat between the siblings when she returned on April 30. The brothers then hatched a conspiracy to eliminate her, said a police officer. On the intervening night of May 1 and May 2, they strangulated her and burnt her body in a field. They disposed of her remains in a creek, police said.
A probe was initiated following a tip off from a villager. Shil Daighar police on Tuesday registered a case against the brothers.