Cuffe Parade Murder: Possessive Husband Kills Wife, Court Sentences to Life Imprisonment

Vitthal Rathod, 27, of Cuffe Parade, was sentenced to life in prison by a sessions court for the strangulation death of his wife, Renuka Rathod. The story was revealed after Renuka's mother filed a complaint against Rathod after seeing questionable marks on her daughter's neck. Rathod, according to the prosecution, imposed restrictions on Renuka's activities and relationships because he was too controlling and possessive of her. Renuka often appeared to want to talk about something, but her mother-in-law was always present, so she was unable to do so, according to her mother.

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Details of the gruesome murder:

This incident took place on February 21, 2021. Around 11 PM, Renuka’s in-laws called her mother and said that Renuka was feeling unwell and very dizzy. Later, Rathod, allegedly under the influence of alcohol at that time, told his family that Renuka had been unconscious and needed to be taken to the hospital. However, his version of this story changed very soon, he claimed that she committed suicide. He said that she strangled herself.

When Renuka’s mother saw reddish marks on her daughter’s neck, she felt something was wrong. She then filed a complaint at the Cuffe Parade Police Station. Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma relied on testimony from Renuka’s relatives during the trial. Renuka’s relatives highlighted Rathod’s suspicious and restrictive behaviour towards his wife. The prosecution argued that medical evidence clearly states that it was manual strangulation and she had not committed suicide. Vitthal Rathod, on the other hand, maintained in the court that Renuka died because she committed suicide, and he tried to do everything possible to save her. But the court was not convinced by his argument. “The defense has failed to establish the probability of suicidal hanging. The prosecution has proven that the accused caused Renuka’s death through manual strangulation or throttling. This act of force clearly indicates an intention to kill,” the Mumbai Court said while hearing this case. The Court ruled that Renuka was murdered by her husband, Vitthal Rathod. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.