The incident occurred inside the Central Railway Staff Colony in the early hours on Friday. Railway engineer Surendra Chavan (54), who was later arrested and charged with causing death due to negligence, had brought Julie to his flat after his wife and five-year-old daughter left to attend a family function on Thursday. Chavan, a senior section engineer in the Parel loco shed, is also a yoga instructor.
Chavan panicked after his wife and daughter returned unexpectedly and knocked on the apartment door around 11pm. Police said he didn't open the door and instead bolted it from inside. His wife, assuming no one was at home, locked the flat from outside and went to a relative's house in the neighbourhood.
After waiting for some time, Chavan tried to open the front door. "However, he got scared when he realized that his wife had put a padlock on the door and worried how he would get out of his predicament,'' said DCP (Zone IV) K G Patil.
Around 2.15am, Chavan decided to climb down from the balcony using bedsheets and a sari. "After getting down, he ran up to the third floor to see the door locked. He again came down and asked Julie to climb down the way he had. Unfortunately, Julie lost her grip and fell. She sustained grievous multiple fractures and died soon after," said investigators.
Chavan, who too suffered bruises during the escapade, then called the security guard and asked him to help lift the body and dump it outside the building gate. "His wallet, which had fallen near the body while he was fleeing, has been seized," said police.
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