CCTV cameras installed near the house captured Dhamnotiya, arriving with the student on February 10. Roughly two and a half hours later, the same cameras recorded him leaving alone, carrying a bag.
He lit incense sticks in a secluded corner of Panvel near Mumbai. He watched YouTube videos on “how to summon spirits.” He whispered apologies into the darkness, claiming he wanted to speak to the ‘aatma’ (spirit) of the woman he had murdered hours earlier.
This is not fiction. According to police, this was the conduct of Piyush Dhamnotiya, the accused in the brutal killing of an MBA student in Indore’s Dwarkapuri area. Now on a three-day police remand, the details emerging from interrogation have sent shockwaves across the city.
CCTV cameras installed near the house captured Dhamnotiya, arriving with the student on February 10. Roughly two and a half hours later, the same cameras recorded him leaving alone, carrying a bag.
Investigators say what happened inside that room was calculated.
According to police sources, Dhamnotiya pressured the student for sex. She refused, stating she was unwell. He allegedly forced himself on her. After the assault, he tied her hands and feet with ropes found in the apartment and blindfolded her, claiming he wanted to give her a “gift.”
When she resisted again, he stuffed cloth into her mouth and sat on her chest, choking her until she lost consciousness. Realising she had stopped breathing, he allegedly stabbed her near the chest with such force that the knife broke.
But the brutality did not end with death. Police say he remained inside the room even after killing her. He stepped out, bought beer from a liquor shop, returned, and drank beside her lifeless body. During interrogation, he allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting the corpse before changing his clothes and fleeing, leaving the young woman naked.
Earlier that day, the student had left home saying she needed to correct her Aadhaar card. Her father dropped her near the collectorate. She later called her younger sister, saying she was going to a birthday party with her classmate Piyush Dhamnotiya and would return by 11 pm.
At 11 pm, a chilling message was sent from her phone: “Tell Papa she won’t be returning home.”
Her phone was switched off soon after. Investigators later discovered that 11 objectionable videos of the two had been shared in a college group. The same clips were uploaded to the woman’s WhatsApp status and sent to contacts saved in her phone, alarming relatives.
During interrogation, Dhamnotiya repeatedly changed his version of events.
In one statement, he claimed he wanted to marry her, but she was distancing herself and had not spoken to him for about 15 days. He said he noticed a dating app on her phone and assumed she was communicating with another man. An argument followed, and he allegedly strangled her.
After the murder, Piyush fled to Mumbai, travelling through Panvel and staying in hotels. He reportedly roamed metro stations and broke the student’s mobile phone to destroy evidence.
What shocked investigators further was what they found in Maharashtra, signs suggesting he had attempted black magic rituals in an isolated area. Indore DCP Krishnalal Chandni provided a detailed statement on the case “Piyush Dhamanotia, the accused in the Uncle Gali murder, was arrested in Mumbai and is currently in police remand. He had been in a relationship with a woman, but her family wasn’t ready for the marriage, which was causing a dispute. He went to her home to resolve the matter, and they had a physical relationship. An argument ensued, leading to the woman’s strangulation. That same night, he returned to Panvel in Mumbai, stayed in a hotel, and the next day, he destroyed her mobile phone. We arrested him with the help of the Mumbai Police.
