By Quaid Najmi

Thane, Jun 10 (IANS): As Maharashtra's Mira Road town continues to shudder with new revelations, police investigators are trying to dig deep in the mind of Manoj Sane, who cold-bloodedly butchered, chopped, cut, minced, boiled and roasted the body pieces of his young companion Saraswati Vaidya, 32, officials said on Friday.

The investigating officials have found how Sane, 56, has been giving evasive replies and even attempting to mislead the probe teams as he is interrogated in police custody, granted by a Thane court till June 16.

On Friday, it has emerged that Sane and Vaidya were actually husband and wife and not merely live-in partners as originally claimed, said Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar's Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayant Bajbale, who is directing the probe into the sensational case to piece together many loose ends to get the correct picture.

"During the probe, we found that the accused (Sane) and the victim (Vaidya) were married, and they had even informed this to her sisters. However, they kept this fact hidden from others because of their age difference," he said.

The police have recorded the statements of at least three elder sisters of Vaidya who were in regular touch with her and reached here from Ahmednagar to join the police probe.

They have revealed that the duo had entered wedlock in a temple marriage ceremony several years ago, and now the police have asked for their DNA samples to match with their youngest sibling, who met a gory end earlier this week.

In contrast, two of Sane's brothers in Mumbai have declined to comment anything to the police saying that they had severed all relations with him many years ago and do not have any knowledge of his recent activities.

On Thursday, Sane had made wild claims that Vaidya had allegedly committed suicide last Saturday (June 3) and he had not killed her.

An ITI certificate-holder, he also claimed that he was detected HIV-positive some 15 years ago and had no physical relations with Vaidya, who was planning to appear for her SSC exams and he was tutoring her in maths at his home.

He also contended how she was like a "daughter" to him rather than a live-in partner, but now the facts are falling into place in bits and pieces.

Sane told the probers that after her "suicide", he tried to dispose off her body parts as he would have become the prime suspect for her death, and then he himself intended to commit suicide.

The probe teams are still trying to ascertain what exactly happened between the couple, souring their relations and ending with what is considered the most ghoulish murder in recent times.

The MBVV police have formed multiple teams to trace Sane's other acquaintances, friends, business associates, etc. who can shed some light on his mind, his background, whether he was of a violent nature, and other aspects to help deduce the real motives behind his bestiality.

The Nayanagar police of Mira Road virtually stumbled across the gruesome crime in Akashdeep building on Wednesday evening after neighbours complained of a stench emanating from the non-descript seventh floor flat No 704.

After the police team opened it, they entered into a veritable "house of horrors" - comparable with some blood-curdling Hollywood or Ramsay Brothers films - that has now become the talk of the nation, and managed to nab Sane as he tried to flee the spot.