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Journalism of Courage
In 2015, the Pune police faced a murder case with very little evidence during the early stages of the investigation. However, in a stroke of luck, footwear marks discovered at the crime scene became a vital clue, ultimately guiding the police to the accused and his accomplice.
Satishchandra Gopalrao Dravid, 86, was alone in his apartment on the third floor of Lunkad Valencia in Viman Nagar on September 17, 2015, while his family members visited a relative’s house for the Ganesh festival celebration.
After some time, the family members tried to contact Dravid multiple times on his cell phone, but there was no response. They returned home around 8 pm, rang the doorbell and knocked on the door repeatedly, but again received no answer. Concerned, they used spare keys to open the door to their apartment.
To their shock, they found Dravid lying in a pool of blood. They also discovered that gold ornaments worth Rs 1.3 lakh had been stolen from the house. The family immediately informed the police, who rushed to the spot. The police filed a murder and robbery case at the Vimantal police station, and a team, including sleuths from the crime branch, launched a probe.
The police said there were no initial clues at the crime scene except for footwear marks. Investigators questioned around 150 people, including newspaper vendors, plumbers, delivery personnel, and others whose names were recorded by the security guard at the entrance of the Lunkad Valencia building. However, none of them were found to be connected to the murder.
The police reviewed the CCTV footage recorded at the building. In the video, they saw a laundry man entering the premises. He was identified as Rahul Juggulal Vishwakarma, who was 20 years old at the time. However, the police noticed that his name was not recorded in the security guard’s register.
On September 19, 2015, the police went to his laundry shop. He behaved suspiciously and attempted to flee, but the officers chased and arrested him. During the investigation, the police discovered blood-stained clothing and slippers belonging to him. They said the markings on the slippers matched those found at the crime scene.
The police arrested Juggulal on charges of murder and robbery. Originally from Uttar Pradesh, he had been living in Pune for the past few years and operated a laundry shop in the Viman Nagar area, according to the police.
Investigators discovered that he visited Dravid’s house around 4 pm on September 17. According to the police, he murdered the elderly man by assaulting him with an iron chair and a sharp knife and subsequently stole gold ornaments from the house.
The police investigated why his name was not recorded in the security guard’s register. The investigation revealed that security guard Girishchandra Mishra, then 26, who had been working at the building for the past three years, was also allegedly involved in the crime. The police arrested Mishra, suspecting that he had provided the assailant with information about Dravid being alone at the house.
The police said Mishra was employed by a private security agency operating without the necessary permissions and licences. A separate case was filed against the proprietor of the security agency under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act.
A senior police officer part of the investigation team said, “Marks of the footwear of the accused found that murder spot turned out to be an important clue and evidence for solving the case. The matter is currently pending before a court in Pune.
