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Who killed Antara Das? Five murder mysteries that have baffled Pune Police... until now
From Antara Das murder committed about two years back, here’s a list of such cases yet to be solved
While the murder of software engineer Antara Das hits the two year mark this month, investigators have failed to make any headway in the case with the lone suspect who was arrested earlier sought discharge as police could not gather substantial evidence against him. The Pimpri- Chinchwad police in August this year told Wadgaon court that in the absence of substantial evidence against Santosh Kumar Gupta, charges against him in Antara Das case should be dropped. But Das is not the only victim whose murder is yet to be brought to justice. There are four others whose murders have become unsolved mysteries. These murders were of Suresh Alurkar, Darshana Tongare, Pralhaad Jogdandkar and Varun Sethi.
Antara Das, December 23, 2016
Bengaluru IT professional Santoshkumar Akhileshwarprasad Gupta (24) who is the only suspect in the murder of 23-year-old techie, Antara Das has been given clean chit by police for lack of evidence with investigators asking court to discharge him in the case.Capgemini professional Antara Das was stabbed to death in by a unidentified person while walking near her office at Talawade at 8.30 pm on December 23, 2016. The assailant had stabbed her multiple times with a sharp weapon and escaped. Gupta was arrested after her parents alleged that she had been harassed by him through calls and messages. Almost two years later, the case still remains unsolved and the Dehu road police have kept the investigation open.
Antara’s father Debananda Das said,“It’s really sad that the police are nowhere closer to catching my daughter’s killers than they were two years ago. Till date we have no idea why our girl was so brutally killed. I am sick and have been suffering from cardiac problems for a long time hence preventing me from taking an active follow up in the case. We want justice for our daughter”
Darshana Tongare, July 30, 2010
Darshana Tongare (24) , a software professional, was hacked to death while she returning to her residence in Bavdhan from work in 2010. Despite interrogating several suspects, the Pune police and state criminal investigation department (CID) have failed to make any breakthrough in the case. Tongare was a bright student who had joined IBM four months after completion of her BTech (bachelor of technology) from College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). Tongare was dropped near her residence in Bavdhan by her boyfriend in an auto but she never reached home. She was found stabbed in the chest with a sharp weapon. The police alleged that the unidentified assailant was a spurned suitor. Darshana’s brother Ketan Devidas Tongare had filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court following which the case was entrusted to the state CID. The case is still unsolved despite the police recording as many as 170 statements of suspects and her friends. Police also conducted brain-mapping and other tests on a few suspects but all in vain. The police even conducted a polygraph and lie detector test on her boyfriend. Ketan Tongare said “ We want the police to go to the roots of the crime and arrest the culprits who killed my sister. We want justice for Darshana, her friends and our entire family ”
Suresh Alurkar, December 14, 2008
Alurkar was prominent name for music lovers in Pune who was known for his vast collection and knowledge regarding music. His shop, Alurkar music store is a legendary place for the music aficionados. On December 14, 2008 Alurkar’s neighbour in Swapnanagari society found his body with his throat slit and limps tied in his flat on Karve road. The residential society is located behind Alurkar’s music store. Police claim that the murder could have taken place around eight hours before it came to light and had also recovered a knife from near his body. Later in January 2010, the Deccan Gymkhana police filed a temporary closure report in the court after probing into all possibilities including family dispute, business rivalry, disputes about copyrights of the music records and even dispute over property deal. Over 310 criminals on police record were interrogated over 1000 call records were analysed for generating leads they all turned out to be dead ends.
In 2010, while referring to the unsolved murder cases of Pune, The Bombay high court judges had said that the crime investigation skills of the Pune police had become ‘ blunt’. Bhaskar Jadhav, police inspector, incharge of Deccan Police station said “ In such case, the crime record and FIR is always with us so that in future we can reopen the case and carry out further investigation ”
Prahlad Jogdandkar, May 2, 2012
A security supervisor working in the high security zone of University of Pune was shot dead by an unidentified man in the campus. The incident occurred around 8 pm, when the 56-year-old security guard allegedly caught a young couple in a compromising position at an isolated spot in the university campus. The victim ordered them to pay a penalty of ₹500 according to the new rules implemented by the university for trespassing and other shady activities .The assailant quietly paid up and left with his girlfriend on a motorcycle. He later returned after half an hour and demanded ₹100 back from Jogdandkar saying that he needed money to fill petrol in his two wheeler. Jogdandkar refused to refund the money which led to an altercation between the duo. The irate killer pulled out a revolver and fired two rounds at Jogdandkar, and fled. Jogdandkar was rushed to the Sassoon hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. The police are yet to arrest the assailant in the case. The murder took place near the university’s servants quarters, located 200 metres from Chatushrungi police station.
Varun Subhash Sethi, May 29, 2014
Varun Subhash Sethi , a software engineer employed with Infosys was murdered on Marunji road in Hinjewadi, around 20 km from the city. He hailed from Bhatinda in Punjab and had joined Infosys IT company recently and was looking for a place on rent to bring his family to Pune. His search for a flat took him to a housing society, MP Residency, on Marunji road, Hinjewadi late afternoon. He was found dead after he had left the flat to return to the company guest house where he stayed temporarily. Sethi’s body bore a single stab injury below the chest. The CCTV cameras at the crime spot were dysfunction at the time of Sethi’s murder.
