Robbery could be the motive behind brutal murder of two engineering college students whose bodies were found in a forest near Lonavla in the district, police said this evening.
Stripped bodies of a 22-year-old boy and a 21-year-old girl were found in a jungle near the naval station INS Shivaji yesterday.
Vishwas Nangare-Patil, Inspector General (Kolhapur Range), who visited the spot today, prima-facie ruled out the honour killing and sexual assault angles.
"We are working on all possible angles and emphasising robbery angle. Multiple teams have been formed to probe the case," he said.
The boy might have resisted robbery, leading to murders, Nangare-Patil said.
The victims were at a secluded place for over three hours and someone seemed to have followed them, he said, adding, "we are also questioning criminals on record."
The victims were hit on the back of heads with some blunt object and there were injuries on other parts of the body too. The girl's hands were tied at the back and she was gagged.
A local resident who spotted the bodies alerted the police.
Both the deceased were third-year students of an engineering college in Lonavla. The girl hailed from Otur in Pune district and the boy from Rahuri tehsil of Ahmednagar district.
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