“We haven't yet concluded if it was a suicide pact. We found no fingerprints anywhere. The exact cause of death will be known only after a post-mortem," police said.

Suresh Sakat (52), the father of 19-year-old Puja Sakat, a Dalit girl who allegedly committed suicide in Koregaon Bhima area in Pune district in April 2018, passed away on Sunday due to various health complications following a stroke he had suffered a few months ago.

In April 2018, Puja, a student of Class XII in a local intermediate college, was found dead in a well in Koregaon Bhima, a day after she went missing from home. Police probe had pointed to suicide and based on a complaint registered by her family, nine persons had been booked on charges of abetment of suicide.

A shanty located in Koregaon Bhima area, which the family had occupied at the time, was burnt down on January 2, 2018, a day after violence broke out in the village and surrounding areas during celebrations to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. According to her family members, Puja had witnessed the burning down of the shanty.

Local police officials said Suresh Sakat had suffered a stroke a few months ago and had developed several health complications following that. He passed away during treatment at a government hospital in Pune on Sunday.