In a chilling turn of events, a 33-year-old army personnel from Ajni, posted in Nagaland, has been arrested for the brutal murder of his girlfriend.
In a chilling turn of events, a 33-year-old army personnel from Ajni, posted in Nagaland, has been arrested for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. Ajay Wankhede’s heinous act was carried out in the forests near Butibori, Nagpur, where he buried the body of his 32-year-old girlfriend, Jyotsna Akre, more than a month ago. His attempt to cover his crime was reminiscent of the Hindi thriller Drishyam, as he disposed of the victim’s cellphone by tossing it into a passing truck, a move that temporarily misled investigators.
After an exhaustive investigation by the Beltarodi police, the case was finally cracked, and Wankhede was apprehended on Monday. Following his arrest, police exhumed the victim’s body from the secluded forest, and a forensic examination was conducted at the scene.
According a report by Times of India (TOI), Wankhede’s grisly crime was reportedly motivated by Jyotsna’s growing demands for marriage. The two had met on a matrimonial site, and according to police sources, Jyotsna, a divorcee, had been eager to remarry. Their brief courtship soon turned tumultuous as Jyotsna began to pressure Wankhede into marriage, unaware that he was already wed. Faced with her persistent demands, Wankhede plotted her murder, luring her to the secluded Butibori location under false pretenses.
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On the fateful day, Wankhede plied Jyotsna with alcohol, waiting for her to fall unconscious before killing her. After burying her in a shallow grave, he carefully covered the site with leaves, branches, and stones, blending it seamlessly with the forest landscape. In an effort to further evade capture, Wankhede hurled Jyotsna’s cellphone into a truck on Wardha Road, mimicking the crime-covering tactics popularized in Drishyam.
After committing the murder, Wankhede returned to Pune, where he was admitted to an army hospital for an extended period, adding another layer of complexity to the investigation.
The case first emerged on August 29, when Jyotsna was reported missing. By September 17, the Beltarodi police had reclassified the case as a kidnapping and began a search. Initially, police were thrown off by the erratic locations of Jyotsna’s phone, which cyber experts tracked to various parts of the country. Unbeknownst to them, a truck driver had found the phone in his vehicle and started using it, leading investigators to mistakenly believe that Jyotsna was on the move.
Senior Inspector Mukund Kawade and DCP Rashmitha Rao led the investigation, and their pursuit of Wankhede intensified when he sought bail from both the sessions and high courts, only to be rejected. Despite initially denying any involvement, Wankhede’s facade eventually crumbled during police questioning. He finally confessed, leading authorities to the site where he had buried Jyotsna’s body.
Wankhede is now in police custody for further interrogation, with the Beltarodi police determined to uncover more details of the chilling crime.