Navi Mumbai: After analyzing over 250 CCTV footages across multiple railway stations, Raigad police arrested two flatmates who brutally murdered their third flatmate and stuffed her body into a trolley bag, which was later dumped beside the Mumbai–Pune railway tracks near Thakurwadi village.
The pink “TRAVELHUB” trolley bag containing the body of an unidentified woman was discovered around 10 a.m. on April 16 near pole number 112/116 on the downline tracks. The victim’s head and face were wrapped in a plastic bag, and her hands and legs were tied with nylon ropes, indicating a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence.
Following the gruesome discovery, a case was registered at Karjat Police Station based on a complaint by Woman Police Constable Chhaya Dilip Chavan from Pune Railway Police. The case was filed under Sections 103(1) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Superintendent of Police Somanath Gharge, Additional SP Abhijeet Shivthare, and Deputy Divisional Police Officer D.D. Tele formed dedicated teams from Karjat and Neral police stations to crack the case. The teams scanned close to 250 CCTV cameras at key stations including CSMT, Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Panvel, Karjat, and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT).
One suspect was seen dragging a trolley bag at LTT’s Platform No. 4. Additional footage revealed the same man and a woman boarding Train No. 11013 Mumbai–Coimbatore Express on April 15 at 10.17 p.m. in AC Coach A-1. Railway reservation data helped identify two suspicious passengers based on their mobile numbers used during booking. Though their tickets were to Coimbatore, call records showed they deboarded at Bengaluru.
The Neral police team rushed to Bengaluru, where CCTV footage at KSR Bengaluru City Station confirmed that both suspects got off the train on April 16 at 8.56 p.m.—without the trolley bag. Suspicion intensified, and with the help of technical surveillance, both suspects were tracked and apprehended.
The accused were identified as V. Vijaykumar Venkatesh (26), a Mechanical Engineer who recently grabbed a job with Rs 22 lakh package and T. Yashaswini Raja Tatikolu (24), a MSc graduate who was working with a MNC, but both originally from Andhra Pradesh. They confessed to murdering their roommate, Dhanalakshmi Yarrappa Reddy (34), over internal disputes in the flat. The victim was a resident of Hummappapuram, Raptadu, Andhra Pradesh. The trio stayed in a flat at Powai.
Both were brought to Karjat and presented before the magistrate, who remanded them in police custody till May 16.
"We are yet to identify the main motive behind the murder. The accused had first smothered the victim and then strangulated her," police inspector Surendra Garad from Karjat police station said.
