Pune: Police Focus On Bank Records To Uncover Mastermind In Satish Wagh Case; Accused Sent To Yerwada Jail As Investigation Deepens

Pune, 31st December 2024: The police are set to scrutinize the bank account details of the accused in the murder case of hotelier Satish Wagh from Hadapsar, in an effort to identify the mastermind behind the crime. During a court hearing on Monday, 30th December, the police requested that the custody of the accused, including Wagh’s wife Mohini, be transferred to judicial custody for further investigation. The court subsequently ordered Mohini and the other accused to be sent to Yerwada Jail.

The brutal kidnapping and murder of Wagh occurred on 10th December. Following an investigation, the police arrested six individuals, including Wagh’s wife, Mohini (48), who allegedly paid ₹5 lakh to orchestrate the murder. The other accused include Akshay alias Sonya Harish Jawalkar (29), both the residents of Fursungi Phata, Pawan Shyamsundar Sharma (30) of Awhalwadi, Navnath Arjun Gursale (31) of Wagholi and a native of Beed, Vikas alias Vicky Sitaram Shinde (28), a resident of Wagholi and a native of Ahilyanagar, Atish Santosh Jadhav (20), of Lonikand and originally from Dharashiv.

During the court proceedings, government prosecutor Jyoti Waghmare argued for the examination of the bank account statements of the accused to establish a financial trail and identify the primary conspirator. She also informed the court that two of the accused, Jadhav and Gursale, had disposed of the murder weapon in the Bhima riverbed at Perne Phata. Although police divers conducted underwater searches, the weapon remains unrecovered.

First-Class Judicial Magistrate Pracheta Rathod ordered the accused to be transferred to judicial custody at Yerwada Jail.

The investigation has revealed that the accused used a car and a two-wheeler for the kidnapping, both of which have been seized, along with cash allegedly paid for the crime, clothing worn by the accused, and the weapons used in the murder. The police have also analyzed the accused’s mobile phone data to gather further evidence.

The case will rely on the testimony of 22 witnesses, whose statements are set to be recorded as part of the ongoing investigation.