Daund woman wasn’t attacked by leopard but murdered: Police unearth conspiracy

PUNE: Nearly three months after a woman, 50, was found dead in a sugarcane field in Daund tehsil, a police investigation has revealed a conspiracy to make it look like a leopard attack, the police said on Tuesday. The Yawat police have arrested two persons in connection with the case who have been remanded to judicial custody till March 7.

Latabai Baban Dhawade, 50, a resident of Kadethan village in Daund tehsil, was found dead in a sugarcane field on December 8, 2024. Her face and head bore injuries, leading villagers to believe that she had been attacked by a leopard. However, a forest department team that inspected the site found no conclusive evidence of an animal attack, raising suspicions. The matter was referred to forensic experts and swabs were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Nagpur for confirmation. The laboratory report, received two days ago, ruled out any traces of an animal attack. Following this, the Yawat police intensified their investigation uncovering that Latabai Dhawade was murdered by her nephew, Anil Dhawade, who is also the deputy Sarpanch of Kadethan village. The disclosure came from Satilal More, a farm worker on Anil Dhawade’s land, who confessed to his involvement in the crime. Both accused have been arrested and are now in judicial custody.

Yawat police inspector Narayan Deshmukh said, “There have been previous leopard sightings in the area, and the villagers demanded that the forest department install cages. When Latabai Dhawade’s death was attributed to a leopard attack, the villagers were agitated. Although we had our suspicions, we waited for forensic confirmation before taking further action. Once the report ruled out an animal attack, we intensified our investigation which led to the farm worker revealing the entire conspiracy. We are now probing further involvement in the case.”

Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forests, Pune forest division, said, “While we have not yet received the official forensic report, the police have informed us of their findings. Though similar cases have been reported in Junnar, this is the first such incident in the Pune forest division. Based on this case, we plan to launch awareness campaigns in affected areas to prevent criminals from fabricating such lies.”

The forest department has also confirmed that any compensation claims in this case will be rejected, as there was no animal attack involved. Authorities have noted a growing trend wherein criminals are committing murders only to make them look like leopard attacks. In Junnar, at least three such cases have been reported in the last two years. Concerned about the same, the forest department now plans to raise awareness in areas where leopards are sighted frequently.