According to the statement given to Gamdevi police by Mahesh Suresh Valmiki, Dr Banaji's domestic aide, Dr Banaji used to leave home for her Bhulabhai Desai Road clinic at 6 pm every day. Valmiki used to work between 7.30 am and 6 pm at Banaji's home. The deceased used to live alone in a third-floor flat at Cama Terrace.

On August 8, '96, at about 7.30 am when Valmiki visited Dr Banaji's home for work, the doctor did not open the flat's main door. Instead, she heard a male voice from behind the bolted door. The voice was that of the accused who advised Valmiki to go away as Dr Banaji was not in. Suspicious, Valmiki approached the flat again along with the building's watchman. When the two were greeted by the same voice Valmiki bolted the doorfrom outside.

The neighbours were contacted and Bisst nabbed. Bisst had strangled Dr Banaji with a rubber gas tube. He was charged under Sections 452, 392, 397 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Public prosecutor Shafi Sheikh appeared for the state.

Man kills wife in domestic quarrel
A 25-year-old woman was murdered by her husband over a petty quarrel at Dharavi yesterday evening.

According to Dharavi police, the incident took place around 7 pm when the accused Mohammed Yusuf Khan kicked and fisted his wife Nazma at their residence at Naik Nagar. The victim was rushed to LMT Hospital at Sion, where she was declared dead before admission. The police said Khan, a dealer in plastic goods, was upset over the sustained losses in business and often directed his anger towards his wife.

Cop gets 5-yrs RI for torturing wife
Additional Sessions Judge S S Joshi awarded five years RI to a police constable, Baban Tarlekar, a resident of Marol police quarters under Section 306 and 498 (A)of the IPC for torturing his wife Suchitra mentally and physically. Suchitra set herself ablaze on July 18, 1996.

Suchitra was married to Tarlekar in 1981. He used to consume liquor and assault his wife regularly. Suchitra had attempted suicide on June 24, 1995 by consuming poison. However, at that time, she gave police a false statement to protect her husband. Suchitra's brother, Suresh Samant, told police that Tarlekar used to tell Suchitra he wanted to marry some other woman. He told police Suchitra was not ready for a divorce. Public prosecutor S P Jamdar appeared for the state.

Three men rob a vehicle at Bandra
Three unidentified men robbed a car after threatening the occupant with chopper near a park at Bandra. The vehicle was later seized by Santacruz police after a hot chase on Wednesday night.

According to police, the incident took place on St Andrew Road near D'monte Park at Bandra (West) around 9 pm on Wednesday. The owner was in a Ford (MH02 N 8323) when three men emerged andthreatened him with choppers before snatching the keys and escaping with the vehicle.

An alert was sounded and a trap was laid for the three feeling men. The vehicle was spotted near Milan Subway and a van full of Santacruz police began chasing the stolen car. The chase lasted for a few minutes as the three men tried to dodge the police. They escaped after abandoning the vehicle on Nehru Road at Vile Parle.

Man gets 5 yrs for killing wife
Additional Sessions Judge R R Vachha awarded five years RI to one Tahir Ali Tayyab Ali Jodhpurwala for causing the death of his wife Zubeda. The Jodhpurwalas are residents of Milawar society at Golibar, Santacruz.

Zubeda's death was caused due to a quarrel with her husband over a sum of Rs 100. On March 11, 1995, a person from the Bombay Suburban Electric Supply came to the Jodhpurwalas' home to remind them of their pending bill. Tahir Ali then asked Zubeda about the Rs 100 he had given her for paying the bill. Zubeda told him she had spent the money forsome household work. Tahir Ali, in a fit of rage then threw a burning stove on Zubeda's person. She received 50 to 60 per cent burn injuries and was admitted to V N Desai Hospital. Later, she was moved to Kasturba Hospital where she breathed her last.

Public prosecutor P D Gharat appeared for the state.

Youth murdered at Mulund
In an another case, a 22-year-old youth was murdered by three men at Mulund late last night. A second person was injured in the attack.

The victim Murlidhar Narvekar was assaulted by the three men near his residence at Rahul Nagar, Mulund Colony at Mulund (West). The attack was fallout of previous enemity, said the police.

Narvekar was rushed to Mulund General Hospital, but was declared dead before admission. However, his friend Santosh Thackeray was lucky to escape with minor injury.

The three attackers have been identified as Rafiq, Vinod and Vijay. A manhunt has been launched to arrest them, the police added.

4 acquitted in Payyade case
The SessionsCourt this week acquitted the remaining four accused in the Ramnath Payyade murder case, which shook the city's hotelier fraternity in 1995, as eyewitnesses turned hostile.

Payyade, chairperson of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants and director of Payyade Finance Private Limited, was murdered outside his Borivli (E) office on June 15, 1995. The post-mortem had revealed over 40 bullet injuries inflicted by two unidentified persons. He also owned a chain of restaurants. Four persons Mario Dixon, Suryakant Dhumal, Shailesh Patel and Vishwanath Shetty were arrested for the murder and according to the prosecution case, Payyade had been killed at the behest of the Dubai-based Sharad Shetty.

The latter had been named as an absconding accused. The eyewitnesses were Payyade's driver, Ramnath Jadhav, watchman, Mahadev More, manager of a nearby hotel, Sanjog, Suresh Shetty, and director of Payyade's finance company, Santoshkumar Hegde.