Woman who went to study in London found dead in Pune flat; family unaware she had returned

Mugdha Deshmukh, daughter of Avinash Deshmukh, retired chief city engineer of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation, has been found dead in Pune. She had gone to London to study but had quietly returned to India, and her family had no inkling of it. Police are investigating the case further.

Mugdha went to London in July 2025 to pursue an MBA. After that she was in regular touch with her family. She last spoke to her mother on October 23, 2026, telling her in that call that she was going for an interview. After that the family could not reach her. They called several times, but her phone was switched off each time.

The parents grew anxious about where their daughter was and how she was. When their efforts failed, the family contacted her friends living in London. They then learnt that Mugdha had left London in August 2026 itself. She had thus returned to India about two months earlier, but the family had no knowledge of it. The distraught family then went straight to the Usmanpura police station.

After a complaint was registered, police began searching for Mugdha. Her mobile phone location and bank account were examined. This brought up a startling detail: her credit card was being used continuously in India on online delivery apps such as Zomato and Swiggy. Some technical evidence also made it clear that she was in India. With the help of the mobile location, police learnt that Mugdha was in the Lodha Belmondo society in Gahunje.

Police reached the spot and tried to open the door, but it was locked from inside. They then opened it with a duplicate key. Mugdha was found dead inside. Police saw that the air conditioner and fan in the flat were also running. Some medicines were also found around Mugdha. Police are now investigating further.

Mugdha had been living in this upscale society in Gahunje. Although she had been in India for a few months, she had not told her family. It has also emerged that on October 21, Mugdha had asked the maid who worked at her home to stop coming.