A chilling murder that was first believed to be a case of suicide has shocked Mankapur area. Police investigations have revealed that a 23-year-old woman was brutally murdered by a married man from her own neighbourhood after she rejected his advances. The accused allegedly strangled the woman to death and then tried to pass off the crime as suicide by hanging her body from a ceiling fan. The deceased has been identified as Prachi Hemraj Khapekar (23), a resident of Rajlakshmi Society on Godhani Road. The accused, Shekhar Dhore (38), lives in the same locality and runs a tours and travels business from his home. The accused, a married man, has been arrested by Mankapur Police. Initially, the incident appeared to be a suicide.

 

However, injuries found on Prachi’s head raised suspicion. The post-mortem report later confirmed that she had been murdered. “During the post-mortem, doctors found clear injury marks on the head, which did not match a suicide case. The cause of death was strangulation, following which the body was hanged to mislead the investigation,” said Police Inspector Harish Kalsekar, in charge of Mankapur police station. According to police, Prachi was pursuing a BA degree and was also undergoing training in share trading. Her father, Hemraj, is retired, her mother Rukmini is a homemaker, while her elder brother and sister-in-law work in a private institution. The Khapekar and Dhore families shared cordial relations as they lived in the same neighbourhood and frequently visited each other’s homes.

 

 

Police said that trouble began a few months ago when Prachi and her family noticed Shekhar trying to get emotionally close to her. “He would often come to their house on one pretext or another and insist on speaking to Prachi. His behaviour made the family uncomfortable,” a police official said. Prachi’s family warned her to keep her distance, and Shekhar was also advised not to visit their house unnecessarily.

 

After this, Prachi stopped talking to him altogether, which reportedly angered Shekhar. Despite this, the relationship between the two families remained formally cordial. The crime took place on Monday morning. Prachi’s brother and sister-in-law had left for work, while her parents had stepped out for personal work. Prachi was alone at home. Taking advantage of the situation, Shekhar entered the house around 11 am. “He tried to speak to Prachi and force a conversation, but she firmly refused,” said the Police official. “This led to a heated argument.” Police said that during the argument, Shekhar allegedly grabbed Prachi by the neck. A violent struggle followed, during which he slammed her head against the floor. When she lost consciousness, he strangled her to death.

 

 

Realising the gravity of the crime and fearing arrest, the accused allegedly tried to destroy evidence. He took Prachi’s dupatta, tied one end to the ceiling fan and the other around her neck and staged the scene to look like suicide. When Prachi’s family returned home later, they found her hanging and immediately alerted the police. Mankapur police rushed to the spot, conducted a preliminary inquiry and sent the body to Mayo Hospital for post-mortem examination.

 

“Though the scene initially suggested suicide, we did not rule out foul play. The injuries and inconsistencies prompted us to investigate further,” said police official. During the investigation, police learned that Shekhar had been seen near Prachi’s house around the time of the incident. He was also found missing from his home, which further strengthened suspicion. On Wednesday afternoon, police traced and detained him. “During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime,” the officer confirmed. “He has been arrested and will be produced before the court on Thursday. We will seek police custody to question him in detail.” Addressing doubts about whether a single person could hang a body, the police official said, “At present, there is no evidence suggesting involvement of any other person. However, he will be questioned thoroughly from all angles during police custody.”