Lonavala double murder: Day after, probe focus on unplanned attack, robbery

The hands of the woman were tied at the back and she was gagged with her own clothes.

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The post-mortem examination performed on both on Tuesday morning suggested that the deaths were occurred due to severe head injuries. (Representational image)

A day after two final year engineering students from a Lonavala college were found murdered near Bhushi dam, Pune Rural police, while reiterating that their teams were working on all possibilities, said at this stage the focus of the probe was on an unplanned attack or robbery. The bodies of the 22-year-old man, a final year mechanical engineering student of Sinhagad Institute of Technology, and the 21-year-old woman, who was in the final year computer engineering student at the same institute were found with their clothes stripped. They had been attacked by a blunt object, the police said.

The hands of the woman were tied at the back and she was gagged with her own clothes. The post-mortem examination performed on both on Tuesday morning suggested that the deaths were occurred due to severe head injuries. The bodies were handed over to their families after the autopsy at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune.

A police officer, who is part of the investigation, said, “The woman had left the hostel on Sunday evening telling a hostel friend that she would return late. The man, who lived in a private accommodation near the college, picked her up and the two seem to have gone for a ride to the Bhushi dam area on his bike. Their bodies were found on Monday afternoon… their cell phones are missing. Though some other valuables were not taken away, robbery or attempt of robbery, cannot be ruled out and one of our teams is focusing on that.”

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The officer said, “We also have reasons to believe they were in a relationship and the families and some others may have known about it. At this stage, we are looking into all possible angles relating to this fact too. The autopsy has primarily ruled out a sexual attack on the woman. This attack can also be an unplanned attack by known or unknown persons.”

“We have now taken the list of their classmates. Our teams and college authorities are speaking to students for clues. We are in touch with the family members and the online activities and phone calls of the two are also being checked for possible clues.”

On Tuesday, IG (Kolhapur range) Vishwas Nangre Patil visited the crime scene.

College authorities and friends remembered both victims fondly. “The woman had recently got a placement with a multinational software company. She had secured a first class throughout the four-year course. The other student had also secured first class throughout the course. Both were very active in various college activities,” said Principal M S Gaikwad.

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