Rape accused found dead in resort at Maharashtra's Igatpuri; death by suspected

The deceased has been identified as Chirag Varaiya who was a chartered accountant (CA). His dead body was found in a resort and a death by suicide was not ruled, the police said. The deceased was expected to appear before the police in a rape in which he was an accused.

Nashik (Maharashtra): Police recovered the dead body of a chartered accountant, identified as Chirag Varaiya, from a resort in Igatpuri area of Maharashtra on Monday, sources said. The deceased was accused in a rape case. "Death by suicide could not be ruled out. A message written on a piece of paper not blaming anyone for taking the extreme step, was also recovered from the crime spot," police said on Tuesday.

The deceased is survived by his wife and two children. When the driver went to pick up Chirag staying at his friend's resort on Monday morning, there was no response. Suspecting foul play, the driver then contacted the resort owner as well as police. Police rushed to the spot to investigate the matter. "The body was found hanging from a ceiling fan of the room. It was sent to post-mortem examination," said a police officer.

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On January 10, Mumbai's Bhandup police had registered a case of rape against Varaiya. He was cooperating with the police during the investigation in the case, the officer said and added that when he was called for the second time by the police, he did not turn up. A police officer from Igatpuri said, “Prima facie it appears to be a case of death by suicide. Deceased Chirag Varaiya is a resident of Mulund. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan at the resort in Igatpuri."

The officer further said that the deceased was also wanted in a rape case registered against him three weeks ago. Chirag Varaiah told his employer on Friday that he wanted to take time off to visit the resort at Igatpuri.