Mumbai: The police have filed a case of murder against a Ghatkopar woman for allegedly assaulting her daughter-in-law and causing fatal head injuries and trying to pass the death off as a tragic household accident.Pant Nagar police are investigating the complaint filed by Rajendra Vallal (63), a tailor from Nalasopara, alleging that his daughter, Sapna Ganji (35), was subjected to mental and physical harassment by her husband Pramod, father-in-law Bhikshapati, mother-in-law Dhanalakshmi and other family members since a few years after her marriage in May 2013.Vallal said that on Monday, around 12.37am, he received a phone call from Bhikshapati informing him that Sapna had slipped in the bathroom, suffered a head injury, and was taken to Rajawadi Hospital. Vallal and his wife reached the hospital around 2am, and were informed that Sapna had died. He said that when questioned, Dhanalakshmi allegedly claimed that after a domestic help informed her that Sapna had consumed alcohol and was creating a ruckus, an argument ensued. Later, Sapna slipped and fell in the bathroom, sustaining fatal head injuries, she claimed.Vallal, however, alleged that upon seeing his daughter’s body in the mortuary, he noticed a major injury on the back of her head as well as marks and bruises on her face, neck, and shoulder. He expressed suspicion over the circumstances of the death and alleged that the injuries on her body indicated that she had been assaulted.He accused Dhanalakshmi of attacking Sapna and causing fatal head injuries due to resentment over a previous domestic violence complaint filed against the Ganjis.Vallal said the families had reconciled after the in-laws assured him that they would not ill-treat Sapna anymore. The couple later shifted to a separate residence in Vikhroli and after Pramod’s transfer to Dubai in February 2026, Sapna and her son, Shivansh, started living with her in-laws at Triveni Apartment in Ghatkopar.
