The Ahmedabad City Crime Branch has cracked a 2022 cold case involving three related homicides, arresting a couple after an attempt by the husband to frame his estranged wife unintentionally exposed their role in the crimes.
The investigation began when Madhavdas Bhaktiram Sadhu approached the police with an tip regarding the murder of Shantaben Gambhirbhai Vasava, an elderly woman killed in Kosamba, Surat district, in 2022.
However, routine interrogation and background verification revealed the individual had no connection to the incident. Police officials confirmed that formal legal proceedings have commenced against both accused individuals. Based on the information, detectives tracked down and detained the cousin named in the report. Finding no evidence to support the tip, investigators shifted their focus to verifying the credibility of the informant. Continued interrogation led Madhavdas and Urmila to admit to their direct involvement in Shantaben’s death. The first incident involved Madhavdas’s mother, Manjulaben Bhaktiram Sadhu, who was paralyzed and required daily care. Seeking to relieve themselves of her caretaking responsibilities, the pair smothered her with a pillow and subsequently performed a cremation. The second incident targeted Bhagwatiben Kamleshbhai Vasava, Urmila’s sister and Shantaben’s granddaughter, who suffered from tuberculosis and resided in the household. Seeking to acquire cash, valuables, and physical possession of the family’s residential properties, the couple smothered Bhagwatiben with a pillow before burying her body. They then proceeded to kill Shantaben to secure control over the assets. Forensics teams have been deployed to assist in the recovery of physical evidence from the burial sites as the investigation continues.
The investigation began when Madhavdas Bhaktiram Sadhu approached the police with an tip regarding the murder of Shantaben Gambhirbhai Vasava, an elderly woman killed in Kosamba, Surat district, in 2022. The couple murdered the victim in 2022, sealed her body inside a barrel with industrial cement, and later removed the remains to bury them in a pit dug on the property, according to police.
Madhavdas told officers that Shantaben had been killed by her granddaughter, Urmila alias Jaya, and Urmila’s cousin, and that the body was buried inside their residence.
