‘Missing’ partner case: Ahmedabad DCB finds blood stains in PI’s house

In a major breakthrough in the missing case of Sweety Patel, 37, the partner of a police inspector Ajay Desai attached to the Vadodara district police, the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has found blood stains while collecting evidences in the Karjan residence of Desai, from where Patel allegedly went missing on June 5. The DCB also confirmed that Desai, who had initially consented to undergo a narco test, has now withdrawn his consent.

The Ahmedabad DCB, which took over investigation on Wednesday formally, conducted a punchnama of the residence of Desai in Karjan which he shared with Patel and their two-year-old son as well as at the site in Atalia village in Bharuch districtwhere the Vadodara district police had recovered partially charred human bones on July 12 from an under-construction building.

Chaitanya Mandlik, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Ahmedabad DCB told The Indian Express that the agency was close to a breakthrough in the case. “Our team visited Vadodara Wednesday to take over the case and collected forensic evidence from the locations. The team visited Desai’s house in Karjan and found blood stains in the pipe of the common sink of the house. We have collected the evidence and it does indicate towards the possibility of foul play. We are investigating the angle,” Mandlik said.

On Thursday, Desai withdrew his consent to undergo the narco analysis, which was approved by a local Vadodara court based on the earlier application of the Vadodara district police that was investigating the case before Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja handed over the case to the DCB.

Confirming Desai’s denial to the narco test, DCP Mandlik said, “He had earlier consented to the narco analysis with the Vadodara district police. He even underwent the medical tests for two days that are a pre-requisite before subjecting the person to the actual narco test. It is a five-day process and the actual analysis begins on the third day and he withdrew his consent. It could be because he is anxious that the case has been taken over by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch. We do not know why he has withdrawn his consent because he is not required to give us any reason.”

Mandlik said that the investigating agency is now awaiting the result of the polygraph test conducted on Desai while the investigation was with the Vadodara district police as well as the report of the DNA test that has been conducted to match the partially charred human bones recovered from Atalia village with the DNA of Patel’s two-year-old son and her brother. “We will have both the reports of the polygraph test and the DNA matching shortly. We are also calling in Desai for an interrogation tomorrow and we will be able to tell if he is cooperating in the investigation or not,” Mandlik said.

According to the Vadodara District police investigation so far, Patel and Desai were living together after a temple marriage in 2016, which was not legally registered. Both Desai and Patel had dissolved their previous marriages, police has said. Desai, however, legally married another woman in 2017. Ajay and Sweety Patel, who have a two-year-old son from their relationship, had an argument on the evening of June 4 over the issue of their relationship status, according to Desai’s statement to Vadodara District police.

Vadodara District Superintendent of Police Sudhir Desai had said that the couple had been frequently fighting as Patel wanted him to divorce his wife and legalise their relationship.