Pune dowry death: Man who threatened Vaishnavi Hagawane’s kin sent to police custody till June 3

Pune: A local court here on Saturday remanded Nilesh Chavan, who was arrested from the Nepal border after he allegedly threatened the kin of Vaishnavi Hagawane, in police custody till June 3.

The Pune police on Friday detained Chavan from Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj close to the India-Nepal border.

In the court, police sought his remand for five days, contending that they needed to recover data from his mobile phone. The police also claimed that Chavan has the mobile phones of Vaishnavi’s husband and her sister-in-law.

After listening to both sides, the court sent Chavan to police custody till June 3.

Vaishnavi (26) allegedly committed suicide in Pune's Bavdhan area on May 16, with her kin alleging that her in-laws and others had tortured her for dowry. Her father-in-law Rajendra Hagawane was subsequently expelled from the NCP.

Chavan was on the run since a case was registered against him for allegedly threatening the Kaspate family with a gun after they went to his residence to take custody of Vaishnavi’s baby. After Vaishnavi’s death, her 9-month-old child was with Chavan, who is close to the Hagawane family, officials have said.

The Warje police have booked Chavan for showing a gun, while a case under the Juvenile Justice Act was registered at Bavdhan police station against him for not taking proper care of the child, an official had said on Friday.

Rajendra Hagawane, Vaishnavi’s husband Shashank, mother-in-law Lata, brother-in-law Sushil, and sister-in-law Karishma have been arrested in the alleged dowry harassment-suicide case.