A 73-year-old farmer was found murdered inside his car near Pune on Saturday. Officials from Uttam Nagar Police Station identified the deceased as Narayan Pandurang Mankar, a resident of Lokesh Society in Bibwewadi.

Police said around 190 grams of gold ornaments were missing from the scene. A manhunt has been launched for the farmer’s sharecropper, Satish Khadke, who had accompanied Mankar the day before the murder.

According to police, Khadke went to Mankar’s home in Bibwewadi on Friday morning. He told Mankar there was work to be done at the family’s farm in Sangrun village. Mankar and Khadke left in Mankar’s car.

When Mankar did not return home by late night, his family began searching for him. The next day, around 12 pm, his body was found inside the car parked near Sangrun village in Khadakwasla, Haveli taluka, around 30 km from Pune.

Mankar’s son, Neeraj Mankar (43), filed a First Information Report with the Uttamnagar police. The family owns a farm in Sangrun, and Khadke had been working there as a sharecropper.

Two gold chains and two gold rings, weighing around 190 grams, were missing from Mankar’s possession. He had serious injuries on his head and neck that proved fatal.

Police officials say that the primary investigation points to Khadke’s involvement. We are searching for him and checking if he has any accomplices.

The motive behind the murder is still under investigation. Police continue to probe all angles in the case.