Pune: A fortnight after the discovery of three murdered victims — a woman and her two children — at Khandale village near Ranjangaon, the Pune Rural police took Gorakh Popat Bokhare, the woman’s 36-year-old brother-in-law, into custody.Bokhare, a resident of Saradwadi village in Shirur, was charged with killing the three between May 23 and 24. He allegedly strangled them, struck them with a stone, and partially burnt their bodies after their death.“The motive behind these brutal acts stemmed from a domestic disagreement,” Pune Rural SP Sandeep Singh Gill said on Saturday.Inspector Mahadev Waghmode from Ranjangaon MIDC police produced Bokhare, a water tanker and garbage van driver, with his face covered before a magisterial court in Shirur. The court ordered his custodial remand till June 16.On May 25, the police discovered the partially burnt remains of Swati Keshav Sonawane (25) and her sons Swaraj (3) and Viraj (1), residents of Majalgaon in Beed district, on the Khandale village road.Gill said, “The breakthrough in the investigations came after multiple teams comprising 28 officers were deployed across the state to gather missing person’s data. A matching description was found in a complaint registered by Swati’s husband, Keshav Sonawane, in Beed.”He said, “Sonawane’s statement led investigators to Alandi, where they learned about Swati leaving with Bokhare. Investigations revealed that Bokhare was Swati’s cousin. He often mediated disputes between Swati and her husband. Later, Swati and Bokhare entered into a relationship.”According to Gill, during Swati’s visit to Alandi, she insisted on marriage with Bokhare, resulting in disagreements. “On the night of May 23, Bokhare took Swati and her children on a motorcycle to an isolated road near Khandale village. Following intimate relations and an argument, he strangled Swati while the children were sleeping. He subsequently strangled the children,” the officer said.“To prevent identification, he obtained petrol from a fuel station, doused the bodies, and fled. Bokhare later returned to his employment as a driver in Ranjangaon, maintaining normal routines,” he added.
