An ex-army person opened fire at his estranged wife and mother-in-law from point-blank distance from his licensed revolver next to the court premises on Tuesday in Shirur, around 70 kilometres from Pune.
His wife succumbed to bullet injuries while his mother-in-law sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.
The broad daylight shooting took place inside the public works department (PWD) compound which is adjacent to the court premises, Pune rural police officials said.
The deceased was identified as Manjula Dhavale (40) and her injured mother has been identified as Tulsabai Ranganath Zambre (55).
The accused Deepak Pandurang Dhavale (45) and his brother Sandeep, both from Ambarnath in Thane district, travelled to Shirur in an auto rickshaw for the scheduled court hearing on alimony related to the victim.
After she was shot, Manjula was laying in a pool of blood and was surrounded by a crowd. A few of them rushed her along with the injured mother to the hospital.
“The shooting took place around 12pm on the premises of the public works department, which is located next to the civil court,” said Abhinav Deshmukh, superintendent of police said.
{{/usCountry}}“The shooting took place around 12pm on the premises of the public works department, which is located next to the civil court,” said Abhinav Deshmukh, superintendent of police said.
{{/usCountry}}Police officials said the trio initially had an argument, after which the assailant pulled out a pistol and fired. His wife Manjula died on the spot after being hit by two bullets. It was the final hearing in the case, police said.
The Dhavale brothers later fled in the same auto-rickshaw they had come in though police arrested them on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway near Ranjangaon.
“We have arrested both Deepak Dhavale and his brother Sandeep. Local staff from Ranjangaon police station chased them and recovered the weapon too,” said Deshmukh.
Officials said Tulsabai Zamare suffered one bullet and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
“The deceased woman, Manjula and Deepak were having domestic issues and she had filed a case for alimony in the court. She reached Shirur with her mother for the hearing of the case when Deepak fired at her and she succumbed to the bullet injuries,” said additional superintendent of police Milind Mohite.
The incident spread panic in the town as police had to call extra force to bring chaos in order.