On March 24, 2011, an 84-year-old Hari Vasudev Dhamdhere was brutally murdered while he was watching a World Cup cricket match between India and Australia at his bungalow in the plush Mitra Mandal Colony in Pune city’s Parvati area. The murder case is yet to be solved.
Dhamdhere, also called Abbasaheb, was a retired chief engineer who had worked on the Koyna Dam Power project. His son operated a gas agency at Salisbury Park.
On the day of his murder, his wife had gone to a religious function, and his son and daughter-in-law were also out for work. Around 7.30 pm, some employees of the gas agency came to the bungalow to hand over the daily collection of cash of about Rs 3.2 lakh. Dhamdhere, who was busy watching the cricket match, asked his house help to keep the bag with the money on the first floor of the bungalow. His help left the place around 8 pm, after which Dhamdhere was alone at the house.
At around 9.30 pm, when his son and daughter-in-law reached home, they found Dhamdhere lying in a pool of blood even as the cricket match was on. Soon, they called other family members, a doctor, and the gas agency manager on the spot. After the doctor confirmed that Dhamdhere had died, the family informed the police.
According to the police, Dhamdhere’s body had more than 20 to 25 stab wounds. They also found that the rear door of the bungalow was open and the cash that the gas agency staff had left was missing. This led the police to suspect that Dhamdhere was murdered with the intent of robbery.
After a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at the Dattawadi Police Station (now Parvati Police Station), then senior police inspector Vijaysinh Gaikwad launched a probe into the murder. Crime Branch officials also initiated a parallel investigation to identify and arrest the killer.
The police interrogated about 25 employees of the gas agency, and also questioned nearly 300 criminals, particularly those having a previous record of thefts and robberies. No CCTV footage was available.
The police said neighbours, too, failed to notice any suspicious movements at Dhamdhere’s house. They added the people in the neighbourhood were also watching the World Cup cricket match and hence nobody heard any sounds or screams from Dhamdhere’s bungalow when he was murdered. The police even carried out an investigation considering the involvement of someone who knew Dhamdhere very well. But there was no breakthrough.
Vijaysinh Gaikwad, who retired as an assistant commissioner of police, said the police carried out a rigorous investigation but the case remained unsolved.
People who knew Dhamdhere said he was a very helpful person and was involved in social activities after his retirement.
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Chandan Haygunde is an assistant editor with The Indian Express with 15 + years of experience in covering issues related to Crime, Courts, National Security and Human Rights. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2007. Chandan has done investigative reporting on incidents of terrorism, left wing extremism, espionage cases, wildlife crimes, narcotics racket, cyber crimes and sensational murder cases in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. While working on the ‘Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Fellowship on Tigers, Tiger Habitats and Conservation’ in 2012, he reported extensively on the illegal activities in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. He has done in-depth reporting on the cases related to the Koregaon Bhima violence in Pune and hearings of the ‘Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry’. … Read More
Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. … Read More
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