Pune: Father Held for Allegedly Strangling 3-year-old Daughter, Attempting to Kill Son in Forest near Alephata in Junnar
Pune, 7th May 2026: A three-and-a-half-year-old girl was allegedly strangled to death by her father, who also attempted to kill his five-year-old son, in a shocking incident reported from the Alekhind forest area near Alephata in Pune district’s Junnar taluka.
While the girl died in the incident, the boy survived and later managed to reach the Pune-Nashik highway, helping police uncover the crime. The accused father has been arrested by Alephata police.
According to Police Inspector Vishwas Jadhav, the accused has been identified as Sagar Sadashiv Shinde (29), a resident of Moshi in Haveli taluka.
Police said that on Tuesday morning, Sagar allegedly took his two children — Harshada (3.5) and Aryan (5) — from home on the pretext of taking them out. Instead of returning home, he allegedly took them to a forested area in Alekhind in Junnar taluka, where he allegedly strangled both children and abandoned them in the forest believing they were dead.
On Wednesday morning, Aryan reportedly regained consciousness and walked crying towards the Pune-Nashik highway. Passersby and local residents noticed the child in distress and alerted the Alephata police.
During questioning, the boy was able to tell police his name and village. Police then contacted his relatives, following which the children’s grandfather, Laxman Shinde, reached Alephata police station and identified Aryan. However, Harshada was found missing.
Subsequently, Alephata police coordinated with Bhosari MIDC police and launched a search operation. The accused was later detained from Chakan. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to abandoning the children in the Alekhind forest after strangling them.
Police then took the accused to the spot, where the body of Harshada was recovered late Wednesday night.
Sagar Shinde has been arrested and further investigation is underway under the supervision of Police Inspector Vishwas Jadhav and Assistant Police Inspector Amol Panhalkar.
