Strip and rob: The modus operandi of Lonavala killers
To catch couple, terrify them by asking them to remove clothes and later to rob them was a modus operandi of the two accused who were arrested in the Lonavala double murder case.
However, this time, both engineering students started to scream and hence the accused killed them to not to get caught.
Pune Rural police arrested two accused on June 11.
On April 3, Sarthak Waghchoure and Shruti Dumbare, two fourth year engineering students of Sinhagad College of Engineering in Lonavala were found murdered near INS Shivaji, near Bhushi dam in Lonavala. They were found naked with their mobiles missing.
Vishwas Nangare Patil, Special Inspector General, Kolhapur range, said, “Earlier in two cases, both the accused whom we arrested had robbed two couples in similar manner. They caught them, asked them to remove their clothes and later rob them. But earlier both the times, none came forward to complain with the police. And this time when they asked Sarthak, the deceased student, to remove clothes he did. But when they asked Shruti, the deceased girl, to remove her clothes, Sarthak tried to attack the accused. So, they killed Sarthak with sharp stone. Later Shruti started to scream and accused thought she would approach police, so they killed her with the same stone.”
He added, “The accused earlier also was involved in three crimes including robbery. In 2016, he was sent to jail for four months in the robbery case. In first 3-4 days of murder, we had reached his house in Lonavala but he went to Ahmednagar saying his niece was unwell. Our investigation team always had doubt on him. We had interrogated him twice earlier but he is intelligent.”
He said, “Another accused whom we arrested from Agra yesterday (Sunday) ran away to Hyderabad and later to Agra after committing crime. He has one crime against him but he was not arrested.”
The award of Rs 50000 announced by Suvez Haque, superintendent of police, Pune Rural Police proved beneficial in cracking the case. Two eye witnesses came forward who informed police that they had seen accused with clothes full of blood stains. . Witnesses also heard conversation of the accused that they got two mobiles and they needed to removes tracker from the mobiles.