Maharashtra: Husband, in-laws held for killing woman, tried to pass it off as suicide in Akola

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The police in Maharashtra's Akola district arrested a woman's husband and his parents after they allegedly killed her and tried to pass off the murder as suicide, an official told the PTI on Thursday.

The 32-year-old woman was allegedly killed as she would apparently refuse to work in the field, the official said.

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According to the police, Jaya Gopal Patond (32), who lived Dahigaon Avtade under the jurisdiction of Telhara police station, was found dead on Wednesday morning.

Her husband Gopal Sadhan Patond and his parents told the police that she died by suicide.

However, the autopsy report showed that Jaya had been strangulated to death, prompting the police to arrest the trio, who then confessed to killing her, the official said.

Quoting the accused, Dnyanoba Phad, in-charge of Telhara police station, said Jaya and Gopal had frequent fights over her refusal to work in the field. This led to the murder, he said.

A case has been registered against the trio under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Pune police arrested a friend of a woman, one of the toppers in the MPSC exam, who was found dead at the base of a fort in Pune district of Maharashtra, an official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.

Citing preliminary investigation, the official said that the accused, identified as Rahul Handore (28), allegedly killed Darshana Pawar after she rejected his proposal for marriage, according to the PTI.

Darshana Pawar was among the top 10 rankers in the last Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam. Rahul Handore, who lived in Warje area of Pune, was preparing for competitive exams, the police said.

"We have arrested Rahul Handore from Mumbai and he has confessed to murdering Darshana Pawar," said the police officer, according to the PTI.

According to the police, the decomposed body of Darshana Pawar, with several injuries, was found at the base of the Rajgad Fort in Pune on Sunday. A post-mortem had revealed that she had been killed, the official told the PTI.

The Pune police, in its investigations, learnt that Rahul Handore and Darshana Pawar were together before her disappearance. After her death, Rahul Handore had also gone missing, which raised their suspicion, the official added.

(with PTI inputs)