Woman murdered by lover in Daulatabad Ghat, accused surrenders to police

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A 19-year-old woman was brutally murdered by her lover, who smashed her head against a rock and threw her body into a gorge in Daulatabad Ghat late Thursday night. The crime came to light when the accused surrendered at the Shivoor police station early Friday and confessed.

The deceased, Deepali Aswar, a native of Lonava (Vaijapur tehsil), had been residing in Abdimandi, Daulatabad. The accused, Sunil Khandagale (25), hails from Mandki in the same tehsil. According to police, Deepali had married Shankar Tribhuvan from Lonava five years ago. The couple has a two-year-old daughter, Gayatri, who lives with her father. Deepali had separated from her husband six months ago and was staying with her grandmother in Abdimandi. During this period, she entered into a relationship with Sunil. On Thursday night, after visiting her sister in Andhaner (Kannad tehsil), Deepali left with Sunil on his two-wheeler, reportedly heading back to Abdimandi. Around 2.30 am, while passing through the Daulatabad Ghat, an argument broke out. Deepali allegedly demanded money and threatened to falsely accuse Sunil of rape. Enraged, Sunil reportedly slammed her head against a roadside barrier, killing her on the spot. He then dragged her body and pushed it down a 50-foot-deep valley.

-------------

Accused walks into police station, confesses

Hours later, Sunil voluntarily appeared at the Shivoor police station and admitted to the crime. Assistant police inspector Vaibhav Rankhamb immediately alerted Daulatabad police. A team led by police inspector Rekha Londhe rushed to the scene. The fire brigade was called in to retrieve Deepali’s body, found tangled in bushes at the base of the valley. The body was later sent to Government Medical College and Hospital(GMCH), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, for post-mortem. Sunil is now in custody. A murder case has been registered at Daulatabad police station, and further investigation is underway.