Woman who cracked forest service exam found dead near Rajgad fort

As per the police, Darshana was preparing for the competitive exams for the last few years and used to visit Pune for studies. She recently cleared the exam for the post of Range Forest Officer (RFO), and came to Pune on June 9 where she was felicitated on June 11 by a private academy for her success.

Meanwhile, she was living with a woman friend in Pune’s Narhe area. On June 12, she left the place saying she was going to Sinhagad Fort with a friend, and informed her family about it. But from June 12, both Darshana and her friend were not reachable on their phones. After failing to trace them, the families of the two  lodged a missing report with Pune city police. Missing reports for Darshana and her friend were lodged at Sinhagad and Warje police stations, respectively. As a probe was initiated, their last phone call location was found in Velha. On Sunday, Darshana’s cellphone was found at the foot of Rajgad Fort in Velha, after which her body was recovered.

“A probe has confirmed that the body found near Rajgad fort was of Darshana Pawar. A report for her was registered at Sinhagad police station on June 15. Her cellphone has been recovered,” said Senior Police Inspector Abhay Mahajan. Meanwhile, policemen at Velha Police station of Pune Rural police took Darshana’s body to a hospital for postmortem and a case of accidental death was filed as per procedure.

Police said her body was found in a partially decomposed condition. A police team has initiated a probe to find out the cause behind Darshana’s death. Also, Pune city and Pune rural police teams are searching for her friend who is still missing.