Officers from the Thane Crime Branch with the accused arrested in the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl from Kalyan, during a press conference, in Thane.
Credit: PTI photo
Thane: Vishal Gawli, the man accused of the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kalyan in Thane district, reportedly died by suicide inside the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday.
Gawli’s family suspects of foul play. Gawli’s lawyer Sanjay Dhakne said that they would file an FIR against the administration for causing the death.
Gawli (35), was found hanging in the prison toilet
The Kharghar police station was immediately informed and a panchnama was conducted.
The body was sent to the government-run JJ Hospital in neighbouring Mumbai for a post-mortem examination.
In December 2024, rape-murder of the 13-year-old girl sparked outrage in the Kalyan locality with the Maha Yuti-NDA dispensation coming under fire from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Gawli kidnapped the girl while she was playing and took her to his house where he raped and killed her. Later, he dumped the body near a cemetery in Bhiwandi.
He later hid at his in-laws' place in Shegaon in Buldhana from where he was picked up and brought to Kalyan and sent to the Kolsewadi police station for investigation.
His wife Sakshi Gawli (25) too was arrested by the police.
Vishal, a history sheeter, faces two other cases of molestation and two of assault.
Reacting to the death, his mother said: “Someone from the jail called me. I asked them to tell me what happened. First, they said nothing and then suddenly said Vishal had hanged himself, and that they were taking his body to the hospital."
“Vishal couldn’t have committed suicide. If he wanted to, he would have done it earlier. He has been in jail for three months now.
"Before this, I spoke to him about 20-25 days ago. It was a normal conversation. He said, 'If I did it, or if I am proven guilty, I will accept the punishment the court gives me'.
We will file a case against the jail administration,” he said.
The victim’s father said that God delivered justice.
“We were fighting for justice in court against the heinous act the accused committed with our daughter.
But in the end, destiny and God delivered justice,” he said and thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde.