Pune Crime Files: A doctor’s killing, a TV series character and a police case that unravelled

According to court records, this crime file started with Blue Bird Detective Agency setting up an office in Pune city, recruiting 4-5 men and allegedly tricking them into kidnapping an orthopaedic surgeon Dr Deepak Mahajan on the pretext of busting a kidney racket. But what Leena and Deepti did behind the scenes, the police told court, was demand a ransom of Rs 25 lakh from Mahajan’s family.

Following a complaint lodged by Mahajan’s wife, the police arrested Leena and Deepti and, while trying to trace the doctor, recovered parts of his body from different locations in the city. Eventually, Leena and Deepti were awarded the death penalty by a Pune court, which held them guilty of kidnapping and murdering Mahajan.

However, the Bombay High Court subsequently revoked the death sentence saying there was no evidence that the mother and daughter had killed Mahajan. Yet, the High Court awarded a life sentence to the two for kidnapping Mahajan for ransom.

What stood out in both the trials was the accused arguing their own case and cross-examining witnesses until the High Court intervened and appointed Rohini Salian as amicus curiae.

Kidnapping and arrest

According to court records, the timeline in the case started on July 2, 2006, when Mahajan’s wife, Dr Smitha Mahajan, tried to dial him, only for the phone to be answered by a stranger who demanded Rs 25 lakh for his release. As the extortion calls continued, Smitha filed a complaint at the Deccan police station with an Anti Extortion Cell team, then headed by Inspector Balkrishna Agashe, taking over the investigation.

According to records, Smitha told the police that her husband had left the house that day to meet the people who had offered him the post of consultant at a charitable trust’s hospital. Mahajan, at the time, was heading the orthopaedics department of YCM Hospital in Pimpri.

The police told court that they were able to intercept the extortion calls and trace the number to one listed on a letter from the “trust” that Mahajan had received earlier. The number led the team to a man identified as Pravin Kamble who told the police that he had recently attended an interview at Blue Bird Detective Agency in Shaniwar Peth. This led to the arrest of Leena and Deepti on July 7, 2006.

Citing their investigation, police claimed in court that the duo had allegedly overdosed Mahajan with drugs, leading to his death, and then dismembered his body using a surgical knife.

Investigation begins

Citing their probe, the police told the court that Leena was a practising lawyer in Nashik and shifted to Uttam Nagar in Pune, along with her daughter, after separating from her husband. On June 11, 2006, records show, they published a newspaper advertisement for “young, healthy and clever men” to work in their agency.

During their probe, the police recorded the statements of four “employees” of Blue Bird, Ketan Kale, Rahul Bhosale, Pravin Kamble and Ashok Magar. They told the court that they were duped by the duo in the Mahajan case and were told that the plan was to bust a kidney racket.

According to the police, the next step in the case was Deepti allegedly changing her looks by “wearing wig, spectacles and dentures” to resemble “Jassi”, the famous character from the hit TV series, visiting YCM Hospital with Ashok Magar, and leaving an envelope with an offer for Mahajan. With the doctor seeking time to respond, the accused invited him for a lunch discussion on July 2, 2006. Mahajan agreed to meet them around 4 pm, the police told the court, adding that he went to a lodge for the meeting on his two-wheeler.

According to police, Deepti allegedly injected Mahajan with an overdose of drugs with the help of employees Bhosale and Kale. Then, they allegedly carried him in a car with a false registration number to Leena at Karve Road, police told the court.

It is from this point that the police version failed to clear the High Court test. The police claimed that after asking Bhosale and Kale to get down from the car, Deepti and Leena allegedly took Mahajan to their room in Uttam Nagar, dismembered his body with a surgical knife and threw the parts at different locations.

The police seized plastic bags carrying body parts suspected to be that of Mahajan from spots in Katraj and Bhosari but the head and limbs were missing. The police also claimed to have seized the knife allegedly used to cut the body, a bent needle, and the syringe used to inject the drugs from the Uttam Nagar room. They claimed a recovery of around 220 items allegedly linked to the crime, including two notebooks with names of top doctors, from the room and a flat in Dahisar – and traced the medical shop from where the drugs were purchased.

Death sentence, later revoked

On December 27, 2007, a Pune Fast Track court of Judge Vilas Patil pronounced Leena and Deepti Deosthale guilty of abducting and killing Mahajan, and sentenced them to death on both counts, after examining 47 witnesses, including police officers, residents of Uttam Nagar and Leena’s siblings. According to the prosecution, the motive was to raise money for Deepti’s modelling career.

However, on September 30, 2009, the Bombay High Court revoked the death sentence, holding that there was no evidence to convict the two for the murder. The court, however, upheld their conviction for kidnapping Mahajan for ransom, and handed them life sentences. The High Court pointed out that there was no medical evidence to show that Mahajan had died due to overdose. Besides, all the body parts were not recovered, and an autopsy could not confirm the cause of his death. The court also noted several holes in the prosecution case, including that there was no eyewitness on record to establish the murder spot.