The Pink Dupatta That Broke A Murder Mystery

Every crime hides a secret, and solving it often means untangling one mystery after another. Even the smallest detail at the scene—a piece of fabric, a footprint, a faint trace—can point police in the right direction. In investigations, every little detail holds the power to find the truth. A pink dupatta fluttering from an autorickshaw caught the attention of Malwani police in Mumbai and turned out to be the vital clue that helped them solve a rape-murder case just a week after it happened.

On September 23, police in Malwani, northern Mumbai, came across a disturbing scene. A woman’s body was found in a remote spot along Marve Road, and the post-mortem later confirmed that she had been strangled. Inspector Jeevan Bhatkule, part of the team investigating the case under the zonal deputy commissioner and the senior inspector of Malwani police station, said that at first, the woman’s identity was unknown. It was only after her photographs were shared in the neighbourhood that she was recognised as a 46-year-old local sex worker.

The inspector said that, according to other sex workers nearby, she was last seen getting into an autorickshaw on the night of the murder. He added that the team then started going through CCTV footage from the areas she frequently visited. While scrutinising the CCTV footage, the police noticed an autorickshaw with the end of a pink dupatta flapping in the wind. On closer inspection, it became evident that the woman inside was dressed in the same pink salwar the deceased had been wearing. He said this observation turned out to be a significant clue in piecing together the investigation.

With the autorickshaw’s licence plate in hand, the police turned to the city’s auto unions to track down the driver. The rickshaw was registered to 34-year-old Chandrapol Singh, also known as Neta, who had arrived in Mumbai just two weeks earlier. When officers reached his residence, however, Singh was nowhere to be seen, leaving them searching for their next lead. According to the Indian Express, several teams were put on the case, and technical intelligence soon confirmed that Chandrapol Singh had made his way to UP's Mathura. Acting on this information, a team went there and found him staying at a relative’s house, where he had been hiding.

Chandrapol Singh was arrested on September 30 and charged with rape and murder. Police officials said that he reportedly confessed to getting into an argument with the woman over money he owed her, which escalated into violence. He strangled her with her dupatta, and when he realised she had died, he abandoned her body in a remote area before fleeing the city. The arrest and confession finally brought a close to the intense week-long investigation.