Shock in Maharashtra as Young Couple Found Brutally Murdered
A horrific crime sent waves of shock across Maharashtra in April 2017. The bodies of two young students, a 22-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman from the Sinhgad Institute of Technology in Lonavala, were discovered in a forested area near the popular Bhushi dam. The location was between INS Shivaji and the Air Force Station. The grim discovery was made on the afternoon of April 3, 2017.
Investigators described a brutal scene. Both victims had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged. They had suffered multiple injuries to their heads and bodies, and their clothes had been removed. A post-mortem report later confirmed that the cause of death was severe blows from a blunt object. The Lonavala city police station immediately registered a murder case.
A High-Profile Investigation and Arrests
Under then Superintendent of Police (Pune rural) Mohammed Suvez Haque, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed. A reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for information. The probe was extensive, with over 1,500 people questioned, including known criminals, friends, and relatives of the victims. Thousands of phone calls were analyzed.
Finally, on June 11, 2017, police arrested a 22-year-old man from Lonavala. He was identified as a history-sheeter with prior cases of house break-in theft and ran a vada pav stall. Police claimed to have recovered the victims' mobile phones from a septic tank at his house in Siddharth Nagar. Two days later, a minor accomplice was arrested from Agra, with a knife allegedly recovered from him.
According to the police theory, the accused duo targeted couples in secluded parts of Lonavala. They allegedly robbed them after forcing them to strip, which was believed to be their modus operandi. In this instance, the prosecution claimed the couple was on an outing on April 2 when the accused threatened them. After the man protested being forced to strip, he was allegedly killed with stones, followed by the woman. The assailants then tied their hands and legs and fled with their mobile phones and a gold chain.
A chargesheet against the main accused was filed in a Pune sessions court on September 6, 2017, while the minor faced proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Court Exposes Critical Lapses, Leads to Acquittal
In a significant ruling on July 30, 2024, the Pune sessions court acquitted the main accused. The judgment highlighted severe deficiencies in the prosecution's case and the police investigation.
The court found key evidence unreliable. A mobile shop owner, a crucial witness, claimed he heard the accused mockingly talk about killing a couple on the night of the crime. However, the court noted he only came forward after reading about the arrests in the media, raising doubts about his credibility.
Physical evidence was also dismantled. The court questioned the recovery of the victim's gold chain from a dilapidated bungalow, noting it was "intact which is not possible as it was snatched forcibly." The recovery of mobile phones from a septic tank was deemed "unnatural," as the accused had ample time to dispose of them elsewhere.
Scientific evidence failed to meet standards. Police claimed to have found the male victim's hair on the accused's shirt, but the court stated that proper DNA testing procedures were not followed, making the evidence inconclusive.
Furthermore, the court observed that the accused owned two smartphones, suggesting a sound financial position. This made the alleged motive of robbing just two phones and a chain less convincing. Ultimately, the court held that the prosecution "failed to prove the motive" behind the gruesome crime and could not establish a complete "chain of circumstances" beyond reasonable doubt.
With this acquittal, justice remains elusive for the families of the two young students, as the case underscores profound lapses in the investigative process that allowed the accused to walk free.
