Approximately a month after the tragic death of an 11-month-old boy, Pune Rural police have arrested a 22-year-old woman, Pooja Ravindra Pawar, for allegedly murdering her child and disposing of the body in a well weighted down with rocks. Investigators discovered that the motive behind the crime was Pooja’s desire to marry for a third time, and she perceived her son from a previous marriage as a hindrance to that goal.
Pooja, a resident of Bhambarde village in Shirur taluka, was taken into custody by officers from the Ranjangaon MIDC police station. She is accused of killing her son, Yash, on March 8 and subsequently concealing his body in a well to eliminate any evidence of the crime.
According to Inspector Mahadev Waghmode, who leads the Ranjangaon police station, Pooja’s husband, Ravindra Ashok Pawar, reported her and their child’s disappearance to the police on April 5. He explained that Pooja had previously left home with Yash for several days, leading him to wait before seeking assistance. However, after four weeks passed without any sign of them, he decided to contact law enforcement.
Following the initiation of the investigation, police located Pooja in Jambut village just hours later. When questioned about her son, she claimed that Yash had fallen and injured his head on March 8. She stated that she was overwhelmed with shock and fear, which led her to dispose of the body in the well. The authorities later retrieved the decomposed remains and conducted an inquest and autopsy at the scene.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Prashant Dhole addressed the media on Tuesday, revealing that the investigation team, under Inspector Waghmode’s leadership, explored various aspects surrounding the infant’s death. During her interrogation, Pooja confessed to the murder, explaining that she had experienced ongoing conflicts with her husband and believed her child would impede her plans for future relationships. She reported that the constant crying of the infant had caused her agitation, ultimately leading her to strike the child’s head against a stone platform on that fateful day.
DYSP Dhole further noted that, in an effort to conceal her actions, Pooja placed the child’s body in a bag with heavy rocks before discarding it in a well in Bhambarde. She was arrested on Monday and subsequently presented in court, where she was remanded to police custody until April 10.
