Overview

• On July 11, Yavat police charged Pallavi, Sachin and Nitin Mengwade with culpable homicide after 11-month-old Avdhut Mengwade died from a trident strike during a family dispute.
• The infant was in his aunt’s arms when Pallavi hurled the trident at her brother-in-law mediator and the weapon missed, fatally striking the child’s head.
• Investigators suspect the trident was cleaned to remove bloodstains and have collected forensic samples from the Kedgaon crime scene.
• Police are probing whether ritualistic beliefs or black magic motives contributed to the attack, reflecting persistent superstition concerns in rural Maharashtra.
• All three accused remain in custody as authorities review witness statements and forensic findings in the Daund taluka homicide investigation.