Hetal Patel death: Medical college prof held

A crime branch officer informed that based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s father,Devshibhai,Rathod has been booked under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for abetting suicide and misleading the police during probe.

Earlier on Tuesday,Rathod was detained by the police. During an overnight interrogation,he reportedly admitted that in the last couple of hours before Hetal killed herself,they were together at his apartment on the eighth floor of the building. Rathod reportedly told the police that they had a heated exchange during which he plainly refused to marry her. After that,she jumped off the terrace.

Hetal (24) belonged to Jetpur,but was living in Rajkot to pursue a computer engineering course. On February 6,she was found dead in the parking lot of Rajkot Medical College quarters on the Jamnagar Road. The police said Rathod,who has a wife and a child,had an extramarital relationship with Hetal.

The police said Patel and Rathod had come in contact through Rathod’s younger brother Hitesh,and were in a relationship for five months. The police said Hetal was earlier involved with Hitesh,and had come close to Rathod after their break-up.

The crime branch is yet to begin a search to find Patel’s sandals and cellphone,which have been missing since the day of her death. The police said Rathod,in order to avoid further trouble,dumped both the things in a well on the Rajkot-Jamnagar highway.

The police also said that Rathod tried to mislead the police by destroying evidence and testifying falsely that he was at work at the time of the incident.