Mugdha, who went to London for an MBA, was found dead in a Pune apartment on Wednesday. Police said she returned to India in August without telling her family. Officers found her body after tracking her food delivery orders. An accidental death report was filed as the investigation continues today.
She made a phone call to her mother on October 23 saying she was in a hurry as she was going for a job interview. But from October 24 onwards, she was not reachable on the phone. Family members contacted her London-based friend Nikita. It was learnt that Nikita last received a message from Mugdha on October 22.
Nikita contacted the London police. On October 26, London police told Nikita that Mugdha left the UK in August. Mugdha’s family then filed a complaint with the High Commission of India in the UK.
Meanwhile, her family also checked her bank transactions, which revealed her online payments to Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Book my Show, Make My Trip and other platforms in India, between October 8 and October 25.
Then, based on a missing complaint filed by Mugdha’s father, a case of kidnapping was lodged at the Osmanpura police station on Tuesday.
Police sub-inspector Kiran Borade, the investigation officer, said, “We checked the Zomato log history in connection with the online payments made by the woman and got the address at Lodha Belmondo society in Pune’s Gahunje area, where she had ordered the delivery.”
On Wednesday, Borade and police constable Vilas Karale reached the plush Lodha Belmondo society, which comes under the jurisdiction of Pimpri Chinchwad police.
“Prima facie probe revealed that Mugdha had taken the apartment on rent in Lodha Belmondo society sometime around April this year. She had been residing there since August or September. We reached the apartment with the help of local police. Its door was locked from inside. When the door was opened using alternate keys, Mugdha was found dead. Her body was handed over to family members after the postmortem. While residing in Pune, she is known to be teaching some subjects online to MBA students. She was mainly contacting her family on WhatsApp. Probe is on to confirm the facts,” said Borade.
Meanwhile, as per the legal procedure, an accidental death report was filed at the Shirgaon police station of Pimpri Chinchwad police.
“A probe is on to confirm the cause behind her death. Her viscera has been preserved and the medical reports are awaited. Postmortem report did not reveal any injury marks on her body. Further investigation is being done,” said senior police inspector Devendra Chavan.
A police officer said attempts are on to find out why she returned to India without informing her family.