Man, 25, found dead in locked car left for days near Jain temple at Pune's Saras Baug

The body of a 25-year-old man was found on Friday inside a locked car that had been left on a road near the Dadachi Wadi Jain temple, opposite Nehru Stadium, in the Saras Baug area of Pune. The discovery alarmed residents of the crowded locality in the heart of the city.

Relatives who were called to the spot identified the dead man. One account names him as Shubham Bansode, while another spells the name Shubhrat Bansode. He is said to live in Loni Kalbhor and had been reported missing from the limits of Kalepadal police station.

The vehicle is a Maruti car with registration number MH12 SF 5471, and one report describes it as an Alto. It had reportedly stood unattended by the roadside for two to three days. Its windows carried dark tinting and the doors were locked, so nothing inside could be seen from outside. When a foul smell began to spread from the car, people nearby grew suspicious. A resident called the police control room. A police officer said: "We received information in the morning that a man near the Dadachi Wadi Jain temple had called the control room because a smell of a body was coming from the vehicle."

Police teams reached the spot and opened the car. The body was lying on the seat in a bloated, decomposed state. Khadak police are handling the case, and personnel from Swargate police station were also reported at the scene. Police said the body may be one to two days old. The body was sent to Sassoon General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

According to the family, Bansode left home on Monday in a friend's car. The friend told police that Bansode had asked him for the vehicle on Monday night but did not say where he was going. His phone was switched off after that and the friend could not reach him. The family filed a missing-person complaint. On Friday morning the police informed the friend and the family that a body had been found.

How Bansode died is not yet known. Marks of assault were reportedly seen on the body, but police have not said what caused the death. Suicide, foul play and other circumstances have not been ruled out, and officers have said the post-mortem report will be decisive. Investigators are also trying to find out why the car was left at the spot and who brought it there, and whether any conspiracy lies behind it.

Khadak police are going through CCTV footage from the surrounding area to trace the route the car took and the person who parked it. Police say the case is being investigated closely and that more details will follow once the post-mortem findings are in.