Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Police on Friday found the body of five-year-old Rashi Chavan in a farm well in the Palshi–Pisadevi area, four days after she went missing while playing near her home. Officers had inspected the same well earlier but had not noticed anything. Police said the post-mortem will confirm the cause of death.
Ram Chavan, originally from Sendhwa in Madhya Pradesh, lives with his wife and children at the Omkar City construction site on the Pisadevi–Palshi road, where the family also works. She returned from school on 11 November and went out to play. When she did not respond around 3 pm, her parents searched the area and later filed a complaint with Chikalthana police. Four police teams searched continuously from Wednesday. Four police teams from the local crime branch and Chikalthana police had been searching for her since Wednesday. On Friday, CCTV footage from a grocery shop in the area showed Rashi passing by, prompting police to intensify the search. The farm well is located around 200–300 metres from her home, near the Pardheshwar Temple. Around 5.30 pm, some workers noticed a body floating in the well and alerted police, who rushed to the spot.
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Dog squad, fire brigade deployed
Upon being informed, fire officials Vijay Rathod, Sominath Bhosale, and firefighters Aniket Landge, Raju Rathod, Lalchand Dubele, Vilas Zhare and C.R. Gite reached the spot. After about 30 minutes of effort, they retrieved the body. A dog squad was also called, and the dog attempted to trace a scent trail but stopped after a short distance.
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Body decomposed; school uniform and shoes intact
Rashi's body was found in a decomposed state. Police believe she had been in the water for three to four days. She was still wearing her school uniform and shoes. The sight of the body led to heartbreaking scenes, with her parents breaking down in grief, moving even the onlookers to tears.