Journalism of Courage
The Bharati Vidyapeeth police have arrested three persons for allegedly murdering a 27-year-old software engineer,Saravan Ramchandran,following a petty quarrel that broke out in a bar. Police arrested the suspects Sachin Subhash Shinde (24),Nitin Trimbak Dongare (21),all residents of Someshwarwadi in Pashan,on Saturday.
Senior police inspector Nagnath Wakode said that the clue to the murder came from the bank transactions of the deceased. After murdering Saravan,the assailants stole his debit card and used it for purchasing clothes and other items from various shops in Pune. We probed the debit card transactions done after Saravans death and identified the three assailants, said Wakode.
Wakode said that Saravan is a native of Chennai. He was working with Symantecin Pune for the last four months and was a resident of Dange Chowk. The suspects Raut and Dongre worked as sweepers in the same firm,while Shinde was a driver with another company.
On the night of January 22,Saravan and the three suspects were drinking liquor at a bar in Aundh area. The trio had purchased a photo frame of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for gifting to a friend during a marriage ceremony. They had wrapped the frame in a newspaper. The frame broke when Saravans leg accidentally touched it. The trio then got angry and started a quarrel with him. Later,when Saravan left the bar,the trio followed him on their motorcycle. They pelted him with stones,killing him. The trio also tried to burn his body. Police said that the suspects stole his wallet and purchased some items with his debit card.
Meanwhile,Saravans father came to Pune on knowing that he has not been to office for a few days. His father lodged the missing report on January 27 at the Chatrushringi police station. A day after,the police found a dead body at Katraj Ghat. Investigations revealed that it was Saravans body. Police said that the suspects dumped his body at Katraj Ghat after murdering him.
