Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The mystery behind the disappearance 32-year-old Sachin Pundlik Autade from Shivneri Colony, Harsul, has finally been solved. Police investigations revealed that Sachin was brutally murdered by his lover with the help of her cousin and a friend, and his body was dumped in the Godavari river.
Police said that on July 31, Bharti Ravindra Dubey (34) called Sachin to her flat in Connaught Place. There, she served him liquor, and with the help of her cousin, Durgesh Madan Tiwari (24, Khultabad), and friend Afroz Khan (Katkat Gate), slit his throat. The trio later carried the body to Paithan and dumped it in the Godavari river to cover up the crime. Sachin, who came from a farming family, had left his home on July 31 afternoon but never returned. His family searched for him everywhere before filing a missing person’s complaint at Harsul police station. Twelve days later, on August 13, villagers spotted a decomposed body in the Godavari riverbed near Mungi in Shevgaon taluka. Following orders from superintendent of police Somanath Gharge, Ahilyanagar crime branch officers assistant police inspector Kiran Kumar Kabadi and PSI Rajendra Wagh identified the body as Sachin’s and launched a murder investigation.
Lover disappears after murder
During inquiries, police discovered Sachin’s relationship with Bharti and also found that she had abandoned her flat the same day he went missing. This raised strong suspicion. A team led by PSI Rajendra Wagh, including constables Furkan Sheikh, Balasaheb Nagargoje, Balasaheb Gunjal, Balasaheb Khedkar, Ramiz Raja Attar, Prashant Rathod, Bhagwan Dhule, and Sarika Darekar, began tracking her movements.
Caught hiding in Buldhana
On August 17, investigators received information that Bharti was hiding in Sakharkheda village, Buldhana district. The police team rushed overnight and detained her from a field. During interrogation, she confessed to murdering Sachin due to disputes in their relationship, and admitted that Durgesh and Afroz had helped her in committing the crime. This shocking crime has sent shockwaves across Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, exposing a tale of betrayal, conspiracy, and cold-blooded murder.
(Photographs: Deceased Sachin, accused Bharti, and Durgesh)