Pune: Investigations into the murder of a 30-year-old woman in Baramati taluka have revealed that the man arrested in the case had allegedly sexually assaulted her and robbed her of gold jewellery before killing her, the Pune Rural police said on Monday.The investigation also revealed that the woman was pregnant. The accused had allegedly bludgeoned her with a hammer. “Despite being injured, the accused sexually assaulted her,” an officer from the Pune Rural police said.The homemaker was found murdered at her house in a village in Baramati taluka, about 95km from Pune, on Saturday night. A police team led by assistant police inspector Kuldeep Sankpal took the accused into custody on Sunday. The investigation revealed that the woman was alone at home when the 26-year-old accused entered the house with the intention of committing theft. He noticed the woman and attacked her with a hammer. She sustained severe injuries to her head, neck and other parts of her body.“The accused revealed that he then sexually assaulted her and later strangled her to death using a towel,” the officer said. He said the accused claimed that he murdered the woman so that she could not reveal his identity to anyone. He then snatched her gold jewellery and fled. “We have recovered the woman’s gold jewellery and the hammer from the accused,” the officer said.The accused has been remanded in police custody till Sept 16. “We had registered a case of murder against an unknown person. We have now added sections pertaining to rape and robbery to the case,” the officer said.
