The 21-year-old woman in Nanded, Maharashtra, who gained national attention as she “married” her boyfriend’s corpse after he was murdered allegedly by her brother, has levelled serious accusations against the local police force. Aanchal Mamidwar alleged on Monday that two cops from Itwara police station abetted the murder of her lover, Saksham Tate, at the hands of her brother.
The killing of 20-year-old Saksham Tate was prima facie a fallout of caste differences, leading to the arrest of Aanchal’s two brothers, Himesh and Sahil, and their father, Gajanan Mamidwar.
Aanchal Mamidwar claimed that her brother Himesh had taken her to the Itwara police station on the morning of the murder, and wanted her to to file “fake complaints” against Saksham. But she refused, she said.
Policemen there escalated the situation with inflammatory advice, she alleged. She told news agency PTI: “Two police officials provoked him (Himesh), saying that he should go kill the man rather than getting into a fight with other people.”
She further said, “The policemen told my brother, ‘Instead of making false cases, why don’t you actually kill him before coming to us?’ My brother took it as a challenge and killed Saksham.”
Aanchal has met Saksham, who was from a so-called lower caste, as he was friends with her brothers. Their love affair of three years was the reason behind the “honour killing”.
Police did not confirm the allegation about the comments made by cops, but said the case is being investigated.
Saksham, 20, was standing with friends in Nanded’s old Ganj area on Thursday evening when a fight broke out between him and Aanchal’s brother Himesh Mamidwar.
Himesh, his brother Sahil, and their father Gajanan were arrested soon after. Six people have been booked under charges of murder, rioting, Arms Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Aanchal alleged a long history of police and her family colluding. She claimed that her father and brothers, against whom “several cases were registered”, have previously been to jail.
But, she further alleged, “they “settled everything through adjustments with the police”.
Responding to her claims, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abinash Kumar confirmed that Aanchal’s statement has been officially recorded, but he added that she had not made any such claim before — about cops allegedly provoking her brother.
The case first made headlines as Aanchal reached Saksham’s home where his body was kept, and applied his blood as vermillion to “marry” him, “making our love immortal”.