Fear grips Maharashtra's Palu village after rape-murder

Fear has gripped parents of teenaged girls in the village of Palu, in Khed taluka, 50 km north of Pune, following the rape and murder of 17-year-old Madhuri Kedari on September 5.

Madhuri, a Standard XI commerce student of Paeet College of Arts and Commerce, was raped and murdered by three men from Palu village, while she was en route her college. Now, no parent is ready to send their daughters to school or college, fearing their possible abduction en route.

DNA, on September 10, in ‘Three arrested in rape-murder case’ had reported how Madhuri was abducted by three men from her own village, gang-raped and murdered on September 5. Her decomposed body was found two days later by the villagers.

The police have charged three men, Anil Kedari, 34, Anil Chavan, 21, and Santosh Andre, 21, with the crime and they have been remanded in police custody.

A sense of shock and disbelief rings through the corridors of the Paeet College of Arts and Commerce, where Madhuri studied.

The college timings are normally from 8am to 2.30pm.

However, considering the low frequency of ST buses after 2.30pm, the college authorities have decided to allow the girl students to leave at 12.30pm, two full hours before closing hours.

College principal Pradip Kumbhar told DNA, “We are shocked to hear of the incident. There are 50 girls in Madhuri’s class and the attendance has dropped significantly following the incident. That is why we have decided to change the timings for girls as the buses going home are infrequent.”

Madhuri’s class teacher, Sandesh Kohinkar said, “Madhuri was a charming girl. She was good at her studies. She never skipped classes.”

A spot visit to Palu village on Wednesday revealed that it is perched on a hillock. A narrow 2-km path connects the village with the road head where there is a bus stop for state transport buses. The college is 6 km from the road head, and girls like Madhuri have to necessarily trek the 2-km stretch to catch a bus to college.

The mood in Palu village was sombre. There were condolence posters put up everywhere. Madhuri’s father, Devram, 50, is a farmer, while her mother Bibabai, 45. is a housewife. Madhuri was the third of five daughters.

She completed her Standard X with 66% marks earlier this year from Chikhali village in Khed, where she stayed with her uncle. She had only recently come to reside with her parents for her Standard XI studies.

Bibabai told DNA she did not want Madhuri to go to college on September 5 as there was Gauri-Ganpati puja at home. “But Madhuri was keen to attend the Teacher’s Day celebration in her college and left as usual at 6.30 am. She even came back to fetch her umbrella. However, when she did not return home in the evening, we asked her college friends, who told us that she had not attended college that day,” Bibabai said.

When Madhuri’s father approached the Paeet police chowki, the nearest police outpost 10 km away the next day, the police refused to register a complaint. According to Madhuri’s father, the police even suggested she may have eloped with a boy from her college.

According to Madhuri’s cousin, Kailash Kedari, it was the village milkman who found Madhuri’s umbrella and a slipper lying along the path leading to the road head. This prompted the villagers to launch a massive search for Madhuri. However, heavy rain prevented any effective search.

Also, the three suspects joined in the search and guided the villagers away from the real spot, which was only 400 meters. Hence, it was only on the evening of September 7 that Madhuri’s decomposed body was found by the villagers.

According to Kailash, it was only after the body was found that a police team came to do the panchanama (spot report). “The police team did not even have a camera and we hired a video camera ourselves to assist the police. It was the presence of Anil Kedari’s slipper near the body that led to his arrest,” Kailash said.

Police sub-inspector Vilas Pujari of Chakan police station (40 km away) said the key suspect Kedari was married and his wife had deserted him two years ago. The police officer said Kedari had a reputation of a thief.

Superintendent of police, Pune rural police, SS Solunke, told DNA he was personally looking into the case. “We have recommended a separate police station for Paeet area,” he said.