Lonavla double murder: Pune court acquits accused for lack of evidence
Pune court on Tuesday acquitted a man arrested in Lonavla double murder case that took place seven years ago due to lack of evidence
Pune: A Pune court on Tuesday acquitted a man arrested in the Lonavla double murder case that took place seven years ago due to lack of evidence. Salim Shaikh was accused of being involved in the murder of two engineering students at Lonavla on April 2, 2017.

The prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove his involvement, leading to acquittal. The other accused in the case, a minor when the incident took place, was released earlier.
The two engineering students identified as Sarthak Wakchaure and Shruti Dumbre were found murdered at a secluded spot on a hilly area in Lonavla near INS Shivaji on April 2, 2017. According to the rural police, robbery was the motive behind the crime.
The police had recovered the bodies, both in their early 20s at that time and last year students of Sinhgad Engineering College, in Lonavla. The victims were found to have been hit on the back of their heads with a blunt object and their hands tied at the back.
In its order, the Principal District Judge Mahendra Mahajan observed discrepancies and contradictions in the case put up by the prosecution.
The court observed that the extra judicial confession made by the witness, who was a friend of the accused, was recorded two months after the incident and after the arrest of the accused
According to defence counsel Afroz Shaikh, the prosecution couldn’t prove the sketch of the accused. The prosecution had claimed that the arrested accused went to Ahmednagar after the incident wherein he could have easily disposed of the theft property. “However, nothing incriminating was recovered,” said Shaikh.
Following the incident, the Pune district police had formed multiple probe teams, but could not crack the case. An award of ₹50,000 was also announced for any information on the murder.
The accused, who were carrying a sharp weapon, had first forced the man to remove his cloths and later went after the woman. However, Wakchoure retaliated and a fight ensued. He was killed in the violent scuffle. They tied her hands with the help of the man’s cloths and bludgeoned her to death with a stone. After the incident, the accused walked away with two mobile phones of the victims and ₹1,000 cash. Police have recovered the phones from the accused.
