Mumbai: On November 22, 2025, BJP minister Pankaja Munde‘s personal assistant Anant Gajre got into an argument with his now-deceased dentist wife Gauri Palve on his phone, during which he allegedly abused her, blamed her for harming his reputation, and repeatedly provoked her by telling her to “die”, stated the chargesheet submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the abetment to suicide charges against him. The chargesheet also stated that both were heard discussing suicide. Police said Anant later forwarded the voice recording to Gauri’s phone with the intention of intimidating her and maligning her image.Last month, the SIT submitted the chargesheet against Anant (32) for allegedly abetting the suicide of his 27-year-old wife Gauri, who was found dead at their 30th floor flat of Navin BDD Chawl in Worli in November 2025. Police have given a clean chit to the two co-accused — Anant’s brother Ajay and sister Sheetal Gajre Andhale — citing lack of evidence.According to the chargesheet, a crucial piece of technical evidence in the case is a voice recording made by Anant which, investigators said, captured a heated argument between him and his wife shortly before her death. The chargesheet also relies on 17 voice messages sent by Gauri to a friend, in which she described the alleged torture by her husband who threatened to make the message viral. Police said Anant forwarded the same voice clips to Gauri’s phone, an act the probe describes as deliberate and aimed at intimidating her, exerting psychological pressure, and creating fear that the recording could be circulated further to malign her image. Investigators stated that this act formed a key link in establishing sustained mental harassment and intentional instigation, which they believe directly contributed to the deceased taking the extreme step.Police concluded that the accused’s actions amounted to deliberate instigation, pushing the deceased to commit suicide. Based on witness testimonies and technical evidence, police concluded that the accused had betrayed the marital relationship by continuously mentally and physically torturing Gauri and by concealing significant aspects of his past life from her.The transcripts of both the accused’s recording and the deceased’s voice messages were prepared under panchnama and have been included as documentary evidence in the chargesheet. Statements of the complainant and other witnesses also corroborate allegations that Anant subjected the deceased to sustained harassment. Police said the deceased took the extreme step fearing that the accused would circulate the recording among members of society, thereby damaging her reputation.The case was initially registered as an Accidental Death Report following Gauri’s death. An inquest panchnama was conducted before two government magistrates and the body was sent to Nair Hospital for post-mortem. The autopsy later confirmed death due to ligature compression of the neck, classified as an unnatural death.During the investigation, multiple forensic examinations were carried out at the scene of the incident. Several articles, including bedding, hair samples, cushion covers, blankets, and dust samples, were seized and sent to forensic laboratories for chemical analysis.
