Sweety Patel Murder Case: Former PI Ajay Desai Gets Life Term

Vadodara: Five years after 37-year-old Sweety Patel went missing from Karjan, a former police inspector has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. His accomplice, who helped dispose of the body, has been sentenced to five years in jail.

An Additional Sessions Court in Karjan sentenced former Vadodara Rural Special Operations Group inspector Ajay Desai to life imprisonment in the murder case. His accomplice, Kiritsinh Jadeja, was awarded a five-year jail term. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on both accused.

Sweety went missing in June 2021 while she was living with Ajay in Karjan. The couple had a two-year-old child at the time. Following her disappearance, her brother Jaydeep Patel approached the Karjan police, who registered a missing person’s complaint.

The investigation made little progress for around 45 days. The case was subsequently handed over to the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on the directions of the then Gujarat Director General of Police on July 18, 2021.

The Crime Branch cracked the case within three days of taking over the investigation. Sweety’s body was recovered from Atali village near Dahej in Bharuch district, while Ajay Desai and Jadeja were arrested after investigators gathered evidence linking them to the crime.

According to the investigation, Ajay allegedly killed Sweety after she repeatedly asked him to divorce his wife, Pooja, and marry her. He allegedly strangled her and took her body to Atali village, where it was cremated with Jadeja’s assistance.

Investigators also traced the mobile phone locations of Ajay and Jadeja to Atali on the day of the murder, strengthening the case against the two accused.

Public prosecutor Ramesh Gyanchandani told the court that the accused had committed a heinous crime and deserved the maximum punishment. The court subsequently awarded life imprisonment to Ajay and five years in jail to Jadeja, along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh each. DeshGujarat