A decade later, court sentences man to life in jail for beheading wife, walking on road carrying the head

The case dates back to October 9, 2015, when the gory sight of the accused walking nonchalantly on a busy road, holding his wife’s severed head and a blood-stained axe (the murder weapon), sent shock waves across the city.

Pune: A Pune sessions court on May 5 sentenced 63-year-old watchman Ramchandra Shehu Chavan to life imprisonment for the brutal murder and dismemberment of his wife. The case dates back to October 9, 2015, when the gory sight of the accused walking nonchalantly on a busy road, holding his wife’s severed head and a blood-stained axe (the murder weapon), sent shock waves across the city.

A decade later, court sentences man to life in jail for beheading wife, walking on road carrying the head

Additional sessions judge Sumit G. Joshi convicted the accused under Sections 302 and 342 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, sentencing him to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of ₹5,000 for the offence. He was also convicted for wrongful confinement and violation of prohibitory weapon-related orders. However, the court acquitted him of charges under Sections 201 and 498-A of the IPC, which relate to destruction of evidence and cruelty.

The prosecution said the murder occurred in an open plot opposite Ganga Osian Park at Sukhsagar Nagar in Katraj, where Chavan worked as a watchman and lived with his family in a hut.

The prosecution told the court that Chavan suspected his wife Sonabai’s character and frequently quarrelled with her over alleged infidelity. On the day of the incident, he allegedly attacked her with an axe while she was washing utensils outside their hut.

The court relied heavily on eyewitness accounts, forensic evidence, electronic evidence, and the accused’s immediate conduct after the crime.

One of the most chilling testimonies came from members of the Shelke family, residents of a nearby apartment building overlooking the open plot where the murder occurred. Witness Ashok Shelke told the court that he saw the accused chopping the victim’s limbs after she had already been decapitated.

“He saw a headless female body in the open place. He further saw that the accused was chopping the hands and the legs of the said body,” the judgment recorded.

Another eyewitness, Nilesh Shelke, who recorded part of the incident on his mobile phone, testified that he rushed towards the spot after hearing screams and saw the accused holding an axe and the severed head of the victim.

“The accused held the axe in his right hand and the lady’s head in his left hand and walked out of the compound,” the witness told the court.

The prosecution also presented video footage recorded on the witness’s mobile phone, which was later seized by police and exhibited before the court. At that time, television news channels had widely circulated the footage.

A nine-year-old girl, who was waiting nearby for her school bus at the time of the murder, also deposed before the court years later. She identified the accused and described how he attacked his wife with an axe before severing her head, hands and legs.

However, the victim’s daughter-in-law, Sunita Chavan, emerged as the prosecution’s star witness. She told the court that she saw her father-in-law attacking Sonabai while she was cleaning utensils.

“When she tried to rescue her and prayed for the accused to leave her mother-in-law, the accused caught her hand and locked her inside the house,” the judgment noted.

Sunita further testified that while she remained confined inside the hut with her children, she heard sounds of chopping from outside. Later, when police opened the door, she rushed out to find the mutilated body of her mother-in-law, whose head was missing.

Traffic police personnel, who intercepted the accused on the road, also testified during the trial. Constable Dattatraya Jagtap said he received information from a passerby that a man carrying a human head and an axe was walking towards Rajas Society Chowk. Upon intercepting him, the accused allegedly admitted to killing his wife.

“He stated his name as Ramchandra Shehu Chavan and said he killed his wife, Sonabai, over a domestic dispute,” the witness deposed before the court.

The court noted that the accused resisted police personnel’s attempts to seize the axe before they eventually overpowered him.

Medical evidence also strongly supported the prosecution’s case. Doctors from Sassoon Hospital, who conducted the post-mortem, found 26 ante-mortem injuries on the victim’s body, including chop wounds, stab wounds, amputations and skull fractures.

The post-mortem report concluded that the cause was “death due to multiple injuries”. Doctors also opined that the injuries could have been caused by the seized axe.

In his defence, the accused denied all allegations and claimed false implication. Defence counsel argued that the prosecution failed to establish a motive and contended that outsiders could access the open plot where the incident occurred. The defence also questioned the credibility of eyewitnesses and electronic evidence.

However, the court rejected these arguments, observing that the testimonies of eyewitnesses were natural, consistent and corroborated each other on material particulars.

“The daughter-in-law of the accused gave natural, consistent and reliable testimony,” the court observed while accepting the prosecution’s case.

The court further held that the accused’s conduct after the murder—specifically, walking on the road carrying the severed head and weapon—constituted a significant incriminating circumstance under the Indian Evidence Act.

The case was registered in 2016 and evidence was formally submitted in December 2021. And, the judgment delivered on May 5, 2026, over a decade later. shiboli