Mumbai: Daughter lives with mother's body for 3 months

The Kalachowkie cops on Tuesday night arrested Lalbaug resident Rimple Jain 24 for allegedly murdering her mother Veena 55 in December According to the police Rimple had cut up the body into several parts which were stored separately in her flat and used more than 200 bottles of perfume and air fresheners to conceal the odour The police also stated that Rimple had severed all ties with neighbours and would sit in the window watching the traffic at Lalbaug Naka for weeksWhenever a neighbour would ask about her motherrsquos whereabouts she would repeat a fictitious story about Veena being on a trip to KanpurAlso Read Mumbai 24yearold daughter held for killing mother storing pieces of her body for three months at home in LalbaugRimple Jain is taken into police custody on Tuesday night PicAjinkya SawantRimple is Veenarsquos only child and the duo was living together for the past 16 years at Ibrahim Kasam chawl in Lalbaug NakaAlso Read Mumbai Two bikeborne men gun down developer in NerulHow case came to lightThe alleged murder came to light only after Rimples cousin came to her home to hand over money to hermdashas was her routine every monthmdashon Tuesday nightWhen the cousin who resides at the nearby Gundecha Gardens arrived Rimple opened the door partially and stretched out her hand to collect the money Her cousin then asked her where Veena was only to hear that she had gone to Kanpur Suspecting something amiss the cousin called her mother and another relative to the building When both reached Rimple refused to open the door Rimplersquos aunt then called her son to the spotSanjay Pawar the vada pav vendor whose stall is opposite the Jain residenceldquoWhen he arrived they asked her to open the door but she opened it slightly Irritated the male cousin forced open the door and entered inside The visitors see anyone in the house but were met with a pungent smell Rimple kept repeating that her mother had gone to Kanpurrdquo said an officer of Kalachowkie police stationThe relatives then decided to approach the Kalachowkie police Taking Rimple with them they also called Sureshkumar Porwal 60 Veenarsquos elder brother to the police stationOn reaching the station around 9 pm they narrated the incident to the cops and the latter decided to pay a visit to the flatldquoWhen the team reached the home they saw everything was a mess We tried to find the source of the foul smell When we opened an iron cupboard beside the door the smell became overpoweringrdquo said a police officerldquoThe cop found a plastic gunny bag at the bottom and on opening it found a decomposed torsordquo added a copAfter continuing their search the police found a pair of hands and legs inside a small steel tank Senior officials were informed about the findings and Rimple was immediately taken into custody for interrogationldquoDuring the home search we found an electric marble cutter a sickle and a knife The body was taken to KEM Hospital where relatives identified it as that of Veena Jainrdquo said Dr Pravin Mundhe DCP Zone 4He added ldquoThe suspect kept on changing her statement but based on circumstantial evidence we booked her under Sections 302 murder and 201 causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender of the Indian Penal CoderdquoBottles of perfumeAfter the murder Rimple poured perfume obtained from a nearby pharmacy on the torso and steel tank Whenever she would go out to buy food her neighbours would complain about the foul smell leading her to spray more cans of air freshener at home After getting irritated with the consistent questions about her mother and the smell she decided not to venture out and limited her outings only to go to the toilet Return to LalbaugThough the Jain family had lived in Lalbaug earlier they shifted to Virar after Rimplersquos parents Prakash and Veena got married In 2016 Prakash succumbed to a serious illness and Veena was diagnosed with the same ailment Her brothers then decided to bring Rimple and her to Lalbaug againSureshkumar told midday ldquoWe were eight siblings but now only three remain After the death of my brotherinlaw I brought Veena to Lalbaug so that she would stay nearby Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen to her Rimple never looked abnormal or disturbed I have no wordsrdquoSanjay Pawar who runs the Shiva Vada Pav stall across the street from the Jain residence said ldquoI have seen Rimple growing up Till last week she would come to buy vada pav samosa pav or patticerdquoldquoShe would be the first customer whenever she bought snacks from me I never thought she was capable of thisrdquo he addedAs the duo had no source of income Veenas brother would give them a fixed amount every month for expenses A family member would deliver the money every month A daily tiffin service was also arranged for by relativesldquoShe would hardly talk with anyone Her mother would speak with everyone but always maintained her distance Both mother and daughter never went outrdquo said a neighbourldquoI saw Rimple last week when she was returning home in a hurryrdquo he addedLast seen on December 27Sureshkumar told the police he last met his sister on November 26 2022 while two witnesses told the police that Veena was seen on the morning of December 27 after she accidentally fell from the first floorldquoAround 5 am on December 27 Veena was seen on the road just below the common toilet which is about 12 to 15 feet above ground level She sustained an elbow and head injury She was taken home by two employees of the Flavours of China restaurant which is just below the building The workers even asked Rimple if they could help her take Veena to the doctor but she declined saying she would manage Thats the last time anyone saw Veena Jainrdquo said a copThe cops are probing whether the fall was indeed accidental After the incident Rimple stopped venturing outSara Raut the owner of Flavours of China said ldquoShe would order food from my restaurant but would behave very rudely with my workers She would never come to the restaurant but would order meals from homerdquoMeanwhile the cops have detained two Flavours of China workers who reside on the same floor as the Jains in two oneroom flats There were being questioned at the time of going to press16No of years accused was living at Ibrahim Kasam chawl