Pune Crime Files | In Darshana Pawar murder, an MPSC success story cut short by a brutal crime of passion | Pune News
“Every life has its own story. But people are interested to hear that story only when it is a success story,” a proudly smiling Darshana Pawar can be heard saying from a podium in a video recorded on June 10, 2023. “I believe that behind every failure is an individual falling short, but behind every success there are efforts of many.”
Pawar, 26, was addressing a gathering at a ceremony organised by her competitive exams coaching institute in Pune, where she was felicitated for clearing a Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam and securing the post of range forest officer. On June 12, Darshana was reported missing after telling friends she was going for a trek with Rahul Handore, 28, her childhood friend and fellow civil services aspirant. Handore was also missing, prompting both families to register separate missing persons cases.
Six days later, on June 18, Pawar’s partially decomposed body was found near the base of Raigad Fort, near Pune, with multiple stab wounds and injuries from blunt objects. A massive murder investigation was launched by the Pune rural police, drawing significant attention across the state.
The first decisive clue
CCTV footage from an eatery in Gunjavane village, near the fort’s base, provided police with the first decisive clue, shifting suspicion towards Handore. The footage showed Handore and Pawar heading towards the fort on a bike, but only Handore returned some time later on June 12. Further raising suspicion was Handore’s subsequent disappearance. Four days after Pawar’s body was discovered, the police arrested Handore at the Andheri railway station in Mumbai. He had allegedly bludgeoned Pawar with rocks and inflicted injuries with a cutter he had brought along on their trek. Investigations revealed it was a brutal crime of passion; Handore allegedly murdered her after she rejected his marriage proposal.
From childhood friends to civil service aspirants in same circles
Handore and Pawar had known each other since childhood, as his home in Shaha village, Nashik, was opposite that of Pawar’s maternal uncle. Their families are distantly related. Handore holds a BSc in Botany and, like Pawar, had been preparing for various competitive exams, mainly those conducted by the MPSC. Both were part of the same study circles in Pune, where Handore resided in Karvenagar while Pawar, who held an MSc in Mathematics, would travel from her hometown in Ahmednagar for her preparations.
In March 2023, Pawar cleared the MPSC exam for the post of range forest officer. Handore, meanwhile, had made four unsuccessful attempts at MPSC exams, clearing the prelims twice but failing at the mains. Both hailed from financially disadvantaged backgrounds; Pawar’s father worked as a driver for a sugar mill in Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, while Handore’s father sold newspapers in Nashik. In Pune, Handore worked part-time, including for a food delivery app, while preparing for various exams.
Moving on trains to throw the probe off the track
Days after his arrest, the police recovered the cutter used by Handore and the motorbike he and Pawar had taken to Raigad Fort on June 12, 2023. At the crime scene they also found rocks that bore traces of blood. Investigations revealed that Handore had anticipated police tracking him after he fled and had guessed the moves investigators would make to arrest him.
Some time after the murder, Handore left Pune, first boarding a train to Sangli, then travelling to Margao in Goa, followed by Chandigarh, and finally Howrah in West Bengal, all by train. Police officials said that while his movements appeared random, they were deliberately planned to evade capture. Throughout his journey, he kept his phone switched off.
Advanced intelligence leads to arrest
During this journey, Handore maintained contact with his family, making at least five calls from borrowed phones. When the police called these numbers back, they were informed of a man travelling on trains and asking for help to contact his family and, on occasions, food. Although the police could trace the locations of these calls, they refrained from sending teams, anticipating his continued movement. A breakthrough occurred when the police received advanced information about his arrival at the Andheri station, which was corroborated by a technical lead. Handore was arrested while preparing to leave for Pune from the Andheri station.
An officer from Welha police station said Handore is in judicial custody awaiting trial. The police have filed a chargesheet in the case and charges against him have been framed.
