A 23-year-old woman software engineer working with an IT firm in Pune was hacked to death by an unidentified assailant barely few metres away from her office on the outskirts of the city on Friday night.
Antara Das, a Capgemini employee, left her office in Tathwade area on the outskirts of Pune at 8 pm and decided to not take the office cab. Her company told police that Ms. Das wrote in the official register that she would take an auto instead.
“Das was rushed to a nearby hospital. However, she was declared dead on arrival,” a senior police official of Dehuroad Police Station said.
According to the officer, robbery angle has been ruled out as the valuables the woman was carrying were intact.
Before the attack, Ms Das had a heated argument with a man on the road when she tried to escape, said an eyewitness who was passing by on a motorcycle. He also claimed to have seen the attacker and has given a statement to the police.
An investigating officer said Antara’s family has expressed suspicion about the possible role of a friend of hers in the murder. She had met the suspect during her training in Bangalore. He had even come to Pune when she was scheduled to appear for an interview at present company and allegedly threatened to kill her.
“Prima facie, it seems that the killer was known to her. Antara got involved in a heated exchange with the killer that lasted for around 15 minutes before she was killed. We have received this information from an eyewitness,” said Arun More, Police Inspector.
The investigating officers further said that there are no CCTVs near the crime scene. They managed to get details of the car in which the miscreant came but eyewitnesses did not recall the registration number of the vehicle.
