Label on wood used to burn body helps Pune police crack murder case

The probe revealed that the deceased, Haribhau Dhuraji Jagtap, 74, from Gangakhed in Parbhani district, who was staying at the residence of Harihar, used to allegedly stalk the latter’s wife. Hence, the duo took the extreme step

Following the alert of a body burnt at a cemetery in Tavashi village, Indapur taluka, in a suspicious manner, the Pune rural police uncovered a murder case and arrested two individuals.

The accused are sent to police custody till November 28. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

According to the police, the incident took place on November 16 when the Walchandnagar police received the call. The police rushed to the spot and managed to find a label “Lakud Wakhar” written on the burnt wood used to burn the unidentified body. Bones, blood stains, and ash collected from the spot were sent for laboratory tests

Sudarshan Rathod, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Baramati, said on Monday, “After a three-day search, we found the owner of ‘Lakud Wakhar’ shop from Gunware village in Phaltan, who claimed that two persons had purchased wood from him. Following analysis of closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footages, we identified the vehicle used by the accused and arrested Dadasaheb Maruti Harihar, 30, and Vishal Sadashiv Khilare, 23, from Phaltan in Satara district on November 20.”

The probe revealed that the deceased, Haribhau Dhuraji Jagtap, 74, from Gangakhed in Parbhani district, who was staying at the residence of Harihar, used to allegedly stalk the latter’s wife. Hence, the duo took the extreme step.

The accused, who work as agricultural labourers, invited Jagtap at Satobachi Yatra. After having lunch together, the accused asked Jagtap to accompany them in a tempo, that was loaded with wood that the deceased was unaware of. When the accused reached near the cemetery at Tavashi village, the duo stopped the vehicle and told Jagtap that they want to attend nature’s call. The accused later killed the victim by beating him with wooden sticks, burned the body, with wood that was kept in the vehicle, at the cemetery and fled the spot. However, villagers noticed the cremation and realising that no one had died from the village, alerted the police.

On the complaint filed by Sachin Jagtap, son of the deceased, police filed a case at Walchandnagar police station under Sections 103(1), 61(2), 238,3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The accused are sent to police custody till November 28.