The forest and the police department continued the investigation into the death of a couple in an alleged leopard attack on Monday in Kolhapur. However, the complexity of the case has increased and as the police and the forest department are pointing fingers at each other, solving the case has become a challenge.
Victim’s son Suresh Kank filed a complaint with the Shahuwadi police that Nino Yashwant Kank, 75, and his wife Rukminibai, 70, who lived in a hut on the banks of a deserted dam six kilometres away from the Goliwane settlement, died in a wild animal attack. However, the forest department has clearly denied the attack by wild animals.
After the panchnama (investigation) of the scene on Sunday evening, the bodies of the two were brought to the Malkapur Rural Hospital for autopsy at 8 pm. However, the police suddenly sent the bodies to Kolhapur for an in-camera autopsy.
Due to this, the relatives had to wait for the bodies for twenty-four hours. The bodies were brought to the Goliwane settlement at 3:30 pm on Monday. A large number of villagers from various villages were present. As soon as the bodies landed at the doorstep, the family and relatives burst into tears.
When the scene was visited on Monday, the local crime branch investigation team was working to check the CCTV cameras in the Mahabal Farm House, ten feet east of the scene. Meanwhile, the dog squad was also called in and investigated.
Investigation team head PSI Patil said that nothing suspicious has been found in the footage yet. Patil clarified that the direction of the case will be clear once the autopsy report is received from the senior office in Pune. He clarified that prima facie, injuries are visible on Rakhubai's face and neck. However, he expressed confusion about her death as there were no injuries on Nino's body.
Meanwhile, Shahuwadi Police Inspector and Investigation Officer Vijay Gherde visited the scene. He also expressed a preliminary guess that Rakhubai may have been attacked by an animal. He also confirmed that the direction of the investigation will be determined on the autopsy report.
Conflicting opinions of the Forest Department and the Police
The Forest Department is clearly denying that a leopard attacked her. Did the tangled mass of Rukminibai’s hair, a left hand and a right leg, and such contradictory parts, be cut off by animals?
Moreover, how did the body of her husband, Nino, get dragged into a reservoir sixty meters from the hut? If so, how come there are no wounds? This is a suspicious case, according to the forest officials.
On the contrary, the police officials are saying that it was an animal attack. Since both departments are presenting contradictory positions, the complexity of this death case has increased. Suresh’s parents used to visit the house on every festival. He had told them to come home on Diwali as well.
Questions that create confusion
The forest department has initially estimated that the incident at Goliwane may not have been caused by a wild animal attack.
No footprints or evidence of the existence of wild animals have been found in this area.
The bodies of both individuals were found at different locations, 400 to 500 meters apart.
Forest officials have clarified that, prima facie, there is no concrete evidence of an animal attack.
The police have ruled out the possibility of an accident. Therefore, when exactly did the Kank couple die? The mystery remains unsolved.
How is there such a distance between the two bodies? Why was this incident discovered so late?
The answers to these questions have not been found yet. Therefore, the situation remains uncertain. It is being predicted that these incidents will be solved only after the forensic reports of the bodies are received.
