Decomposed body of woman found

PUNE: The Hadapsar police on Friday dug out the decomposed body of a 35-year-old woman from her house at Dangat Vasti in Sadesatara Nali area of Hadapsar. The police suspect that the woman, identified as Sunita Sharad Bhandari, was strangulated to death allegedly by her paramour, Ajay Shinde, and buried around 15 days ago.
The incident came to light on Thursday evening when Bhandari's daughter Komal Naik, who is married, came to visit her.When she unlocked the house, she found that a section of the house was covered by a gunny bag. On removing the bag, she realised that the floor had been dug up and worms were coming out from the ground. She informed the neighbours, and one of them informed the Hadapsar police.
Senior inspector Pandharinath Mandhre of Hadapsar police station told TOI that on Thursday evening when the police reached the spot and tried to dig, "we found a decomposed body buried there. It was not possible to dig during the night. So, I deployed two policemen near the spot."
He said on Friday morning the body was dug out. Naik ascertained that it was her mother's body. The body was later sent for post mortem to the Command hospital. "The hospital authorities have reserved their opinion," Mandhre said.
Mandhre said that Bhandari was working as a conservancy staff in a private school located on the premises of a residential complex in Hadapsar. She was staying with Shinde.
Rizwan Khan, a neighbour, said that around 15 days back some residents from the area heard screaming from Bhandari's house. "But, thinking of it as a family matter, they ignored it," Khan said.
Inspector Mandhre said that the police have booked Shinde. "On February 8, Bhandari's daughter had met the suspect in Gadital. He told Naik that her mother was not keeping well," Mandhre said.
He added that following the conversation, Naik went to her mother's place. But on finding the house locked, she came back. On February 12, she again met the suspect. He told her that her mother was now recovering.
"After about an hour Naik again saw the suspect with a bag of clothes. Upon inquiring, he told her that it was his friend's bag. She has not seen him since," Mandhre said.
Mandhre said Naik went to meet her mother thrice, but each time finding the house locked, she came back. "However, on Thursday when she opened the door, the incident came to light," Mandhre said, adding, "We have fanned three teams to trace the suspect."