Panvel firing probe transferred local police to crime branch

NAVI MUMBAI: Nearly two weeks after the incident of firing on Panvel woman real estate agent, the Panvel police are clueless about the accused and the motive and the case has now been transferred to Crime Branch. Both central branch and unit II of the crime branch are investigating the case.

The victim, according to the police, had not given any statement to the police for many days due to her injury leading to a delayed start in investigations. “Even now, she is admitted in the hospital. The main challenge is that there was no CCTV cameras at the location which had made it difficult to get any lead. The complainant too has not revealed much information,” said a police officer from Panvel city police station.

The injured identified as Supriya Mangesh Patil (30) was on her way to her residence at Koproli village, Uran taluka in a car when she was shot at on March 29. The bullet pierced through the car and injured the calf of her left leg. The car was being driven by her cousin brother Sarvesh Mhatre and she was seated next to him.

Patil worked in a bank till October last year and was in the midst of setting up her real estate business in Panvel. After closeing her newly opened office in Panvel, she was returning home when the firing incident took place at Bambavipada on the old Uran road.

Till a week after the incident, the police were clueless about the number of attackers as Patil had not given any statement. Later Patil told the police that there was only one man wearing a hoodie who came on foot up to the car and fired a bullet on the door which pierced the door to hit her leg. Since he was wearing a hoodie, she could not see his face and the shooter ran away from the spot after the incident, she told the police.

“She has given us a name of a man from Uran who had apparently threatened her that he would shoot her. We would summon him and question him soon as the case has just been transferred to us on Tuesday,” a police officer from Crime Branch said.