Absconding rape-murder accused arrested

After being on the run for three years, the accused in the rape and murder of five months pregnant IT professional Rupali Chavan was arrested in Pune on Monday night.

Hanumant Dhondiba Nanaware, 37, had fled from a government hospital where he was taken for a medical check-up by the police in 2010. Since then, the police had been trying to trace him.

Senior police inspector (unit III) Arun Walture said: “Our policemen Baba Shaikh and Manik Pawar got a tip-off on Monday. We laid a trap in the Kondhwa area and arrested Nanaware at Khadi Machine while he was travelling in a private vehicle.” Rupali Chavan was working in an IT firm at Hinjewadi and Nanaware was working as a cab driver in the same firm.

On April 2, 2007, Chavan alighted from the company bus at Solapur Bazar police chowky. Nanaware allegedly kidnapped her in his car, raped and strangulated her to death and dumped her body in Pune rural area.

Chavan’s husband lodged a missing complaint. Walture said, “During the initial days, Nanaware pretended to help Rupali’s family look for her. Later, it was confirmed that Nanaware was in touch with Rupali on the day of the incident. The police zeroed in on Nanaware and arrested him on April 17, 2007.” On July 12, 2010, Nanaware fled from Sassoon Hospital when the police removed his handcuffs so that he could drink water.

How the  fugitive hoodwinked cops
The top brass police officers of Pune crime branch claimed that it was a monumental task for their sleuths to nab Nanaware. According to an officer, after fleeing from the hospital, Hanumant Nanaware went to his village Kawadewadi in Purandar tehsil, 50 kms away from Pune. He told his father that the police had released him. He took Rs1,000 from his father.

Senior PI Arun Walture said, “Nanaware travelled on a truck to Bangalore and then went to Chennai. He got hired as night driver of a container. He stayed at the firm’s godown, cooked for himself and used to ferry the container in the night to Kerala.” He did not call his wife nor his friends in the last three years. He did not use a cellphone, making it difficult for cops to track him.

Sources of the crime branch said, “A few months ago, Nanaware came to his village and met his wife and parents but managed to give the slip to cops.” Though the crime branch had placed several traps at Nanaware’s relative’s village and native place but they had failed to nab him.

‘I miss every moment I spent with her’

An emotional Santosh Chavan said that he misses every moment of his life he spent with his wife Rupali, who was raped and murdered by a cab driver on April 2, 2007.

“I miss every moment of the five years of marriage. The killer not just killed my wife, but also our child who was in her womb,” he said. 

Chavan is happy over the arrest of Ganesh alias Hanumant Nanaware. “I always wanted to see him behind the bars. Finally, the crime branch sleuths have fulfilled my wish,” he said.
Chavan, along with his brother-in-law and two more relatives had come to the crime branch office to congratulate the officers for their detection.

“Rupali was my classmate at animation course and later we got married in 2002. We were staying in Hadapsar. She was working with a private firm while I was working in Magarpatta City. Everything was going well in our life. We used to spend valuable time during the weekends. It was a perfect married life.”

Chavan knew Nanaware as he daily used to drop Rupali at her residence.

Recalling the day before the murder, Chavan said, “It was a Sunday. We both had a holiday. As a result, we had gone to meet our relatives at Bibewadi in the afternoon. We spent sometime at their house and returned to the house in the night. The next morning she woke up early and went to work, while I was asleep. So, we did not interact much on that day. Later, I went to my workplace.”

“When I returned home, I did not find Rupali at home. So I called her but did not get any response. Following which, I informed her sister about it. Later, Rupali’s sister called up Nanaware but he answered that he did not see Rupali and had gone to drop another client in the city. Following which, we went to the police station and lodged a missing complaint with them,” he said.
After a few days, Nanaware confessed to the crime and was arrested.

Chavan said, “Nanaware should not be spared for his deed. He should be hanged.”