Pune police crack double murder

Mumbai: The Pune Rural police has solved the Lonavala double murder case in which a male and a female student of a local engineering college were killed on April 5. The Pune Rural police has arrested an accused who allegedly executed the murder with the help of his accomplice for robbery. The bodies of engineering students — Sarthak Waghchaure and Shruti Dumbare, who were in their early twenties, were found on April 6 by the police at an isolated spot along the bushes near Bushi dam in Lonavala.

The police zeroed in on the arrested accused, who has several cases of assault and robbery against him after his mobile phone was found active at the spot where the murders took place, said police sources. The preliminary investigation in the case revealed that the motive of the duo was to create fear psychosis by stripping them and later to rob the victims.

The accused allegedly molested the girl, which led to a violent scuffle between him and the victims. The duo then overpowered the victims and slit them to death and fled from the spot. The duo was changing their locations to avoid getting caught, police said.

The arrest was made by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was formed following the brutal murders. “The accused was identified with the help of technical data after the police searched through tower locations of several mobile numbers that were allegedly present at and around the spot on the night of April 5,” said the police source.

The arrested accused has been identified as Salim, who has cases of assault and robbery against him and is reportedly a resident of Lonavala, officials said. The police is however tight-lipped and is not revealing the identities of another accused as Salim’s accomplice is on the run and is suspected to be holed up in Agra.

“We have arrested one of the accused who was part of the robbery and murder. They had been carrying a knife that was used in the crime,” said Vishwas Nangre Patil, Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur Range).

Case timeline

• The police found naked bodies of two students with their throats slit and fatal injuries on the back of their heads.
• Pune rural police started scanning call records as there were no eyewitness or people residing around the spot.
• With no headway in the case, a reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for information on the accused.
• SIT was formed for investigating the case. It helped to identify the accused, who had a criminal record of robbery, theft and assaults.
• The police arrested one accused from Pune region and have identified his accomplice who is suspected to be in Agra.