Retd CRPF man who killed his daughter had forced her first abortion

PUNE: Sanskriti Wagh and Pradip Wade wed in a quiet ceremony on Sunday, after their boisterous pre-wedding haldi at Ambedkar Nagar, in Chopda tehsil, Jalgaon, was interrupted the day before when Sanskriti’s sister-in-law Tripti was shot dead by her father, Kiran Mangle, a retired Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) police sub-inspector, while her brother Avinash suffered bullet wounds.

At 10 pm on Saturday, Kiran walked into the haldi ceremony uninvited along with his son Nikhil and allegedly fired a first round at his 24-year-old daughter Tripti and two rounds at her 28-year-old husband Avinash with his own revolver. While Tripti died on the spot Avinash suffered injuries. Following the incident, guests at the wedding and an angry mob retaliated by beating up Kiran grievously; he is on ventilator support in an ICU of a private hospital in Jalgaon, while Avinash is recuperating in Sassoon General Hospital (SGH), Pune.

“Based on Avinash’s mother Priyanka Wagh’s complaint, police have registered an FIR against Kiran and Nikhil,” said Kavita Nerkar, additional superintendent of Jalgaon police.

“We have not arrested Nikhil yet given his father’s condition,” said Madhukar Salve, police inspector at Chopda city police station.

This was not a consequence of a caste-war in the taluka. Kiran was opposed to his daughter’s choice of partner due to their educational disparity and family ties -- when they wed in 2023, Tripti was taking the first year Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) course while Avinash, Tripti’s maternal uncle twice removed, had chosen to not study beyond Class 12 and worked as a helper at Cummins India Private Limited, Pune.

HT reached out to the company on Monday, but no one offered to comment on the issue.

A year ago, her father had compelled Tripti to abort the first pregnancy, alleged Avinash’s mother Priyanka Wagh, 45, who works as a caretaker for elderly patients at Poona Hospital. The family lives in Kothrud.

She said, “During the early days of her first pregnancy, Kiran came to our house to seek forgiveness for opposing the marriage earlier. He said he wanted to take her home in Shirgaon, Dhule district, where her mother would take care of her. But once she was there, he forced her to undergo an abortion and held her back in their house. Tripti managed to flee with the help of a cousin and returned to Kothrud.”

She also alleged that Kiran would often threaten his daughter while she was in college, as well as the Waghs. A relative, who did not wish to be named, said Tripti had discontinued her studies after a few months out of fear, and chose to stay at home.

Officials from Dr D Y Patil Homoeopathic Medical College and Research Centre, in Pimpri-Chinchwad, where Tripti studied, confirmed that while she had joined the 2023-24 batch on September 30, 2023, she stopped coming to class after three months, and did not appear for any exam. A college official told HT, “Her father had visited the campus seeking details of her attendance and had paid ₹2.25 lakh in fees for the academic year.”

Priyanka confirmed with HT that “Tripti was three months pregnant at the time of her murder on Saturday”. Salve said that Tripti’s uterus has been sent for medical tests to verify the pregnancy claim. “Relatives of both the deceased and accused were in trauma, and hence unable to give their formal statements. Police will record their statements when they are in control of their emotions,” Salve added.

Jalgaon police have initiated investigation into alleged previous threats made by the accused. Based on the complaint filed by Priyanka, police have booked Kiran and his son Nikhil under sections 103(1), 109(1), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act.

As Tripti’s family refused to accept the body, Priyanka performed the last rites and carried out the wedding rituals of her daughter Sanskriti separated by a few hours. The wedding ceremony was held at around 11 am on Sunday and Tripti’s funeral around 3:30 pm.

The grand plans of the wedding were set aside, and rituals were observed sans music or celebrations. Only a few grief-stricken relatives stood witness to the rituals.

“We had no option – the groom’s family had already arrived, and the marriage ceremony had to be completed,” a family member said. Priyanka added, “It is a difficult time but I took the decision after discussing the way forward with other members of the family.”

Soon after the wedding ceremony was complete, Priyanka rushed to the government hospital, where Tripti’s post-mortem was being conducted. When Tripti’s mother refused to accept her daughter’s body, her mother-in-law stepped up. “She was like my own daughter,” said Priyanka, who lit the funeral pyre with the help of police.

This was confirmed by Salve. He said: “The relatives, including Tripti’s mother, refused to accept her body. Hence, the last rites were performed with the help of her mother-in-law.” Priyanka could not complete her daughter’s bidai ceremony, the traditional farewell; it is still awaited as a traumatised Sanskriti is being treated in a Pune hospital.