Pune | Days after the body of a woman, one of the toppers in the MPSC exam, was found at the base of a fort in Pune district of Maharashtra, the police have arrested her friend from Mumbai, an official said on Thursday.
Citing preliminary investigation, the official said accused Rahul Handore (28) killed Darshana Pawar after she rejected his proposal for marriage.
Pawar was among the top 10 rankers in the last Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam. Handore, who lived in Warje area of Pune, was preparing for competitive exams.
“We have arrested Handore from Mumbai and he has confessed to murdering Pawar,” said the police officer.
According to the police, the decomposed body of Pawar, with several injuries, was found at the base of the Rajgad Fort on Sunday. A post-mortem revealed that she had been killed, the official said.
A resident of Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district, Pawar had gone to Pune to attend a felicitation programme on June 9. Two days later, she went to her female friend's place in Nerhe area of the city. Pawar left the next day saying she was going to the Sinhagad fort, police had said earlier.
On June 15, her father filed a missing person's complaint at the Sinhgad Road police station in Pune city, saying her phone was not reachable and he had no idea about her whereabouts.
Police learnt that Handore and Pawar were together before her disappearance. After her death, Handore had also gone missing, which raised their suspicion, the official said.
During the probe, police found that Handore had withdrawn Rs 1,000 through his ATM card in Chandigarh, suggesting that he was on the run, the official said.
Handore was finally tracked down to Mumbai and arrested on Thursday, he added
