Jilted colleague had planned Reliance employee's murder: police

Navi Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) An employee of the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC), nabbed Thursday for killing his colleague, Anandita Goswami-Mishra, had proposed to marry her and threatened her when she spurned him, a top police official said.

"The accused, Jacob Pinto, was in love with the deceased and wanted to marry her. However, she rejected his marriage proposal. Stung by this, he had threatened her on several occasions in the past," Navi Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police R.D. Shinde told reporters Thursday.

However, Anandita had not lodged a police complaint, though she may have taken into confidence her seniors in DAKC, Shinde said.

The last time Pinto, who is also married since 2006, had threatened her was just three days before her murder, said the police officer.

Shinde said repeatedly spurned by Anandita, Pinto had apparently made up his mind to kill her. Barely a couple of days prior to her killing, he proceeded on a fortnight's leave and went to Sangli.

He cut short his trip to Sangli and returned to his home in Navi Mumbai, from where he took a knife.

Since he had kept tabs on Anandita's movements and her schedules, he was aware that she would reach the Koparkhairane railway station to catch a train to her home in Ghansoli suburb, Shinde said.

On Oct 17, Pinto waited for Aandita, who left her office as usual around 8 p.m. and was proceeding to the railway station.

Taking advantage of the darkness, he accosted her and stabbed her at least four times in the back and abdomen, a few metres away from the railway premises.

He disappeared under the cover of darkness and the peak hour rush of commuters, confounding the investigators and sending shockwaves in Navi Mumbai, an industrial hub, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Profusely bleeding, Anandita succumbed to the stab injuries soon thereafter. The police surmised that the incident must have occurred shortly after 8 p.m. since her wristwatch had stopped at 8.05 p.m.

Separated from her husband, Anandita lived in Ghansoli with her mother Poornima Goswami and a five-year old daughter Ahana.

She had been working with the DAKC for more than two years and promoted sometime ago as assistant manager for human resources.

Her mother Poornima revealed during investigations that Anandita was very concerned about her physically and mentally challenged 5-year-old daughter and worked only to ensure good treatment for her.