In a swift investigation, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Rural) police have cracked a brutal murder case, arresting two adults and detaining a juvenile for the killing of a hearing and speech-impaired man. The victim's body was discovered stuffed inside a sack and dumped under a bridge over the Godavari river.
Gruesome Discovery Under Godavari Bridge
The case came to light on December 15 when the Paithan police recovered a body from beneath the river bridge near Pategaon in Paithan taluka. The scene was horrifying: the victim's hands and legs were tied, and a noose was found around his neck. Given the brutal nature of the crime, police immediately registered a murder case under sections 103(1) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar M Rathod emphasized the seriousness with which the police treated the case. "Considering the gravity of the crime and the way the body was disposed of, we formed special teams and monitored every stage of the probe to ensure swift resolution," Rathod stated.
Identifying the Victim and Unraveling the Motive
Identifying the victim proved challenging initially. After extensive checks of missing persons records across multiple districts, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) succeeded. The deceased was identified as Krishna Pandharinath Dhanwade, a resident of Gadewadi village. Police noted that Dhanwade was deaf and mute and did not use a cellphone, which complicated efforts to trace his final movements.
As the investigation progressed, a potential motive emerged. Additional SP Annapurna Singh revealed, "Family members and villagers informed us that the deceased often assaulted his elderly parents and his sister, who is also hearing and speech-impaired." LCB inspector Vijaysingh Rajput provided a crucial lead, stating that confidential information pointed to long-standing tension between Dhanwade and his nephew-in-law, Sagar Rameshwar Kesapure from Deulgaon Raja in Buldhana district.
The Night of the Crime and Arrests
"Through sustained questioning and technical evidence, we confirmed that Kesapure, along with Rishikesh Sakharam Gaikwad and a juvenile, conspired to kill the victim," Inspector Rajput explained.
According to the police reconstruction of events, the trio went to Dhanwade's house on the night of December 13. Finding him asleep and alone, they allegedly strangled him with a rope. They then tied his limbs, stuffed his body into a large plastic sack, and transported it on a motorcycle to Pategaon. There, they threw the sack off the Godavari river bridge into the water below.
The police have since arrested Kesapure (20) and Gaikwad (22) and handed them over to the Paithan police for further investigation. The involved juvenile has been detained and will be processed according to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
