Rahul Handore murdered Darshana Pawar for rejecting marriage proposal: Pune Rural police

Rahul Handore, the ‘childhood friend’ of Darshana Pawar, was apprehended by the Pune Rural police from Andheri station in Mumbai for the suspected murder, reported The Indian Express. The body of Darshana Pawar, a 26-year-old who had recently achieved success in the state forest services examination, was tragically discovered with numerous injuries near the Rajgad Fort in the Velhe taluka of Pune district.

Darshana, a 26-year-old woman who had recently qualified for the state forest services, was found dead with multiple injuries at the foothills of Rajgad Fort in the Velhe taluka of the Pune district. Handore, a science graduate from village Shah in Sinnar taluka, Nashik district, was preparing for the civil services in Pune. 

Also Read: Tragic! Woman who cracked forest service exam found dead near fort in Pune

In a briefing to the media following Handore’s arrest, Pune Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal said that the accused knew the victim since childhood as his residence is located right in front of Darshan’s maternal uncle. 

“They were also in touch in Pune when both of them were studying and preparing for civil services in the last few years. Prima facie, it appears that Rahul committed the murder because Darshana rejected his proposal for marriage,” he said. 

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The officer further said that Handore emerged as the prime suspect in the case based on circumstantial evidence and information the police received from various sources.

“We were tracking his location and he seemed to have travelled to West Bengal and Delhi. We finally nabbed him from Andheri railway station in Mumbai late night on Wednesday. He has confessed to the crime,” Goyal said.

The investigation into the case took a decisive turn after the discovery of Darshana’s partially decomposed body, several days after she and Handore were reported missing. Both families had filed separate police complaints on June 14-15 when the duo failed to establish contact.

Darshana, whose father was employed as a driver at a sugar mill in Ahmednagar, had recently achieved success by clearing the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam for the range forest officer (RFO) post. 

She arrived in Pune on June 9 to attend a felicitation program organised by a civil service coaching academy in Sadashiv Peth the following day. A video of Darshana’s speech at the event has gone viral.