A missing woman's body was found stuffed inside the storage compartment of the very sofa-cum-bed where his husband had been sleeping for two days while he was searching for her in the Pune district, Maharashtra.
Phursungi police on Saturday opened a murder investigation identifying the deceased as Swapnali Umesh Pawar (24), a resident of Hundekar Vasti, near Hadapsar. She was last in contact with her husband, Umesh, on the morning of November 7, when he called her at around 10 am.
According to a report by TOI, the cab driver, Umesh was in Beed for work when he reached out to her. The next day, he could not contact her, as her phone was switched off. Concerned, Umesh asked a friend in Pune to check on her, but the friend found no trace of Swapnali at their home. Umesh returned to Pune that afternoon and began an extensive search.
Over the following two days, he searched the neighbourhoods of Hadapsar on his bike, visiting friends and family, but Swapnali was nowhere to be found. On Saturday at around 7 am, after noticing some of her valuables were missing, Umesh opened the sofa-cum-bed’s storage compartment and found her body inside.
"Tragically, it was the very piece of furniture he was sleeping on, a 4x6ft unit. He's in a state of shock," stated senior inspector Mangal Modhawe of Phursungi police. "We believe she was strangled to death."
Postmortem Confirmed Strangulation Was Cause Of Death: Police
Pune police control room received an alert, resulting in a team visiting the residence. By Saturday evening, a postmortem confirmed that strangulation was the cause of death, with nail marks found on the neck.
Police suspected the involvement of someone known to the victim, as there were no signs of forced entry into the couple's apartment. “The suspect’s phone has remained switched off since Swapnali's body was discovered,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) R Raja, adding that initial findings point to murder.
Investigations have confirmed that Umesh was not in Pune at the time of the incident. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hadapsar Division) Ashwini Rakh, who examined the scene, noted that marks on the neck of Swapnali indicate she was likely throttled by the assailant.
"Theirs was a rented flat. Umesh (36) and Swapnali had been married for around four years. The apartment building doesn't have CCTV or a security guard. We're now reviewing footage from cameras on the road that lead up to the building," TOI quoted Ashwini Rakh as saying.
Police revealed that the suspect was a regular visitor to the couple’s home, even staying over on occasion. A police dog picked up a scent, and fingerprints were recovered from the scene.
"This individual was also not found at his home in Ghondalenagar in Hadapsar when we visited," said Rakh. Police said that an FIR has been registered related to murder and robbery based on a complaint filed by her husband Umesh.