Pune: A six-year-old girl and her 75-year-old neighbour were found murdered in the latter’s house at Kelgaon Thakarwadi near Alandi on Thursday morning.The murders came to light when the girl’s grandmother returned home from work and went to the neighbour’s house to bring her granddaughter back. “When the woman opened the door, she found the blood-soaked bodies of her granddaughter and the neighbour,” said senior inspector Bhima Narke of the Alandi police.The police have identified the deceased woman as Sangita Shinde and the girl as Dhanashri Kedari. Dhanashri’s grandmother, Sangita Kedari (41), has lodged a complaint with the police.Narke said Kedari works in the housekeeping department of a private hospital in Alandi. Dhanashri had been staying with her since she was a toddler.“On Wednesday, Kedari was on night duty at the hospital and had dropped Dhanashri at Shinde’s house around 8pm. Shinde was also living alone,” Narke said.When Kedari returned from work in the morning, she went to Shinde’s house and found that the door was not locked from the inside. “Upon opening it, she discovered both Shinde and Dhanashri dead. She immediately raised an alarm, following which locals gathered at the spot and alerted the police,” he added.The officer said prima facie investigations revealed that Shinde was bludgeoned to death, while the girl was throttled. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. “When we checked the house, we found that nothing had been stolen. We are investigating the motive behind the murders,” he said.He added that preliminary investigations indicated there was no sign of forced entry. “The door of Shinde’s house was either left unlocked or she may have opened it for someone,” he said.Narke said teams from the Alandi police and the crime branch have been fanned out to investigate the case.
