A young woman who recently cleared the competitive exams for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) State Forest Services was found dead near Rajgad Fort in the Velhe taluka of Pune district. The deceased has been identified as Darshana Dattu Pawar, a 26-year-old resident of Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district.

Darshana had been preparing for competitive exams for the past few years and frequently visited Pune for her studies. She cleared the prestigious post of Range Forest Officer (RFO). Upon her arrival in Pune on June 9, she was felicitated on June 11 by a private academy for her remarkable achievement.

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During her stay in Pune, Darshana resided with a woman friend in the Narhe area. On June 12, she left their place, informing her family that she was going to Sinhagad Fort with a friend. However, neither Darshana nor her friend could be reached on their phones since that day.

Both families filed missing reports with the Pune city police. Sinhagad and Warje police stations received the missing reports for Darshana and her friend, respectively.

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As the authorities initiated an investigation, the last known location of their phone calls was traced to Velha. On Sunday, Darshana’s cell phone was found at the foot of Rajgad Fort in Velha, leading to the discovery of her lifeless body.

Senior Police Inspector Abhay Mahajan confirmed the identity of the deceased, stating, “A probe has confirmed that the body found near Rajgad Fort was of Darshana Pawar. A report for her was registered at Sinhagad police station on June 15. Her cellphone has been recovered.”

Following standard procedures, Darshana’s body was taken to a hospital by the Velha Police station of Pune Rural police for postmortem, and a case of accidental death was filed.

Authorities have described Darshana’s body as being in a partially decomposed state, and a police team has launched an investigation to determine the cause of her death. Additionally, teams from Pune City and Pune rural police are actively searching for her missing friend.