PANJIM: It was not a glossy side of a “friendly relationship” between the freelance gym instructor Gaurav Bidre and professor Gauri Achari. Having failed to handle rejection, Bidre took out his vengeance on the Ph.D. professor, who was scheduled to travel abroad to submit her research papers.
Currently, in police custody, Bidre confessed to the Old Goa police that he fell for the professor but her repeated request to keep a distance from her, left him enraged. The freelance gym trainer, a native of Sawantwadi and father of one, was imparting physical training to Achari at Candolim.
The accused initially refused to cooperate with the police and broke down only after 10-14 hours of interrogation. He however, has no remorse for (allegedly) committing the murder claiming he walked out of his married life because of the professor.
On the fateful day, the accused told the police that he waited for two hours from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm for the victim to arrive back home from the college. As she parked her car, the man accosted her inside which was followed by a heated argument witnessed by the residents. “She tried to escape and kept honking seeking help, but Bidre locked the car and strangulated her to death,” said sources.
The body was dumped at the Kadamba plateau which was recovered by the police during the course of the investigation. Whether or not it was a planned murder is under investigation.
“She was looking for a personal trainer and encountered Bidre, who has trained the U-19 cricket team and Anti-Terrorist Squad of Goa Police in the recent past. Their training sessions were held in Candolim which is when they developed a friendship,” police sources said, quoting the accused’s interrogation so far.
Bidre shifted from Mumbai to Goa in 2021 and held online as well as offline training sessions for different age groups. He would also coach individual clients including Achari. But things turned sour and last month, the professor asked Bidre to stay away from her. “Bidre was not willing to accept this rejection because he filed for divorce from his wife to marry Achari. He tried to convince her but she blocked him on all platforms, which enraged him,” the police official said.
Bidre had a love marriage with a woman from Uttar Pradesh in 2015. The couple also has a child, but, to marry Achari he filed for a divorce from his wife. The wife left back to her native while he continued his training sessions online and offline.
He then shifted her body into his car. However, it is not clear how he committed this act considering that the Housing Society is close to the busy highway while the residents too were around.
