Pune Crime Files: A half-burnt body near Bhuleshwar temple and a probe that uncovered an affair gone wrong

“There were no identification documents, marks, or any other clues at the location that would immediately help us identify the victim. The autopsy revealed major blows with heavy sharp weapons on the head, chest and back, which were suspected to have led to the death. Setting the body on fire using fuel pointed to a clear attempt to destroy the evidence,” said an officer who investigated the case.

Looking at missing-man cases

In the absence of technical leads, such CCTV footage or other electronic information, the police team started looking into missing-person cases in Pune and other districts of Maharashtra. “Information about the dead body was broadcast on the police network. We got the first lead when we received information on a missing persons case registered at Dhoki police station in Dharashiv district in the first week of July,” one of the investigators said, adding, “Looking back, this means that the man’s family reported the matter several days after he was found dead on June 27.”

The deceased was soon identified as Lakhan Kisanrao Salgar, 24, who worked as a driver in Takli Dhoki village in Dharashiv. As the police started quietly digging into Salgar’s past, they got information that he was having an affair with a married woman.

“By the time we came across these leads in the second week of July, many days had passed since the crime was committed. We found that Salgar was having an affair with Rajashree Padalkar, 23, who was technically his niece by relation. She was the daughter of his paternal cousin. After Rajashree’s husband, Yogesh Padalkar, 25, came to know about the affair, the couple separated. But when Rajashree went to Salgar and sought to wed him, Salgar refused and started avoiding her. After this, Rajashree went back to Yogesh, patched things up and started living with him again,” said an officer.

Peace that did not last

The probe revealed that Salgar had allegedly started meddling in Rajashree’s marriage again, the officer said. “When they were having an affair, Salgar had clicked many of their photos, which he sent to Yogesh. We now know that Yogesh and Rajashree decided to eliminate Salgar and hatched a conspiracy with three other accomplices.”

The day before his body was found, Rajashree reportedly asked Salgar to travel to Pune from Dharashiv. “He was brutally murdered near Bhuleshwar temple in the early hours of June 27. Yogesh and the accomplices brutally hacked Salgar with a sharp axe and set his body on fire,” the officer said.

On July 11, the Pune Rural police arrested Yogesh Padalkar, 25, Rajashree Padalkar, 23, their relative Vikas Korde, 21, Shubham Waghmode, 22, and Kakasaheb Mote, 42, in connection with the murder. All the accused are currently in judicial custody.