MBA student batters girlfriend to death, gives himself up

MUMBAI: It could be frustration, obsession or family pressure but it resulted in the death of a young woman. On Monday night, Pratik  Gupta, an MBA student clobbered his girlfriend Megha Doshi to death with a stone and then coolly walked down to the nearby Juhu Police Station with bloody hands and clothes to surrender.

The bizarre incident occurred at around 9.30 pm near NM College, Vile Parle, on Monday. The police have registered a case of murder against Pratik. He has been remanded to a fortnight's police custody.

Pratik is a Second Year student of the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), while Megha had passed out in 2004. She was working with a broking firm, MK Share Brokers.

Inspector Amar Matkar of Juhu Police Station told DNA: "He walked inside the police station with his bloodstained hands and clothes and simply informed us that he has killed a girl. He demanded that he also should be killed. He said he was in a fit of rage and was tired of the girl."

The incident shocked the students on the campus and they were seen around, huddled in groups and speaking in hushed tones.

"We were standing outside the college campus. They (Pratik and Megha) split up from the group and started walking towards NM College. When they did not come for a long time, we got worried and went looking for them," said a friend of Megha. To their horror they found Megha bleeding profusely and screaming for help.

"She had sustained severe injuries on the head and neck. We rushed her to the nearby Cooper Hospital," said another friend.

After administering first aid, the hospital authorities asked her friends to take Megha to Nanavati Hospital. Megha succumbed to her injuries in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to the police, Pratik claimed that Doshi was allegedly obsessed with him and wanted to marry him. But he was reluctant to enter into matrimony and wanted to remain just friends. "The families of both knew each other. We are told the two knew each other for over five years. Frustration and family pressures may have led to the bizarre act," said a police officer.

But Megha's family denied knowledge of any relationship. Said brother Jagan when reached on his mobile: "The claim is not true. I have never heard or met anyone by the name of Pratik. We don't know the family either." The Doshis home at Goodwill House, Mahim, was locked when DNA visited the building.

Though we never interacted much, the girl was very quiet by nature," said a neighbour on condition of anonymity.
Pratik's family members were too stunned to speak. "We are in no condition to talk. We are too shaken by the incident," said Pratik's mother. His father owns steel business in city.

Megha's father is a Guwahati-based businessman. Megha was adopted by her uncle and was living with them in Mumbai.