In the quiet residential neighborhood of Jamdar Road in Baramati, Maharashtra, an investigative probe continues into one of the most astonishing domestic attempted homicides in recent Indian legal history. Sharmila Pravin Jagtap, a 38-year-old resident of Indraprastha Society, remains held in judicial custody following her arrest for allegedly plotting and executing a multi-stage attempt to murder her husband, 41-year-old Pravin Prakash Jagtap.

The primary legal framework of the prosecution is grounded in First Information Report (FIR) No. 313/2026, filed at the Baramati City Police Station under Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which governs attempted murder. The official complaint was formally lodged by the victim’s 71-year-old father, Prakash Kanhoba Jagtap, shortly after emergency services rescued his son from a concrete tomb inside the family flat.

Investigative authorities are pursuing several crucial lines of inquiry. A major focus centers on a potential pecuniary motive involving a term life insurance policy valued at ₹2 crore ($240,000 USD) registered in Pravin Jagtap’s name, with Sharmila designated as the primary beneficiary. Detectives are auditing financial transactions, insurance documentation, and electronic communications to establish whether financial gain served as the primary catalyst for the crime.

Concurrently, Pravin Jagtap, recovering from severe physical trauma and chemical poisoning, has raised urgent legal appeals regarding his family's safety. In public statements and formal police submissions, Jagtap revealed that his wife’s parents seized his two minor children—a young son and daughter—in the immediate aftermath of the police raid. Fearing for his children's physical safety and psychological well-being, Jagtap has petitioned district judicial authorities and child welfare committees for immediate legal custody.

Furthermore, the case has ignited broader regulatory scrutiny over the illicit over-the-counter sale of controlled pharmaceuticals. Jagtap has formally requested the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local law enforcement to cancel the commercial license of the medical store that supplied his wife with heavy-duty central nervous system (CNS) sedatives without a prescription. Local law enforcement confirmed that an auxiliary investigation into the pharmacy’s dispensing records is underway to establish criminal negligence or illegal distribution.

The Interception at Flat 9: The Dial 112 Call and Balcony Rescue (August 1, 2026)

The conspiracy collapsed late in the morning of August 1, 2026, inside Flat No. 9 of the Indraprastha Society. Sharmila Jagtap had brought external construction laborers into the apartment under the guise of building an elevated brick-and-cement platform or planter structure in the hall balcony.

By approximately 11:30 AM, the perimeter of the square masonry structure was built to a height capable of accommodating a human body. The suspect had placed her semi-conscious, battered husband into the hollow chamber and instructed the workers to seal the vault permanently by mortaring a heavy slab of Kadappa hardwood stone directly over the top.

The plot was foiled by the alertness of the hired masons. As one of the workers adjusted the stone slab and prepared the mortar, he observed subtle movement—a twitching leg and arm protruding from inside the dark cavity. Recognizing that a living human being was about to be entombed in cement, the laborer feigned a need for additional supplies, stepped outside the flat, and immediately contacted the Maharashtra Police emergency hotline via Dial 112.

Simultaneously, a second breakthrough occurred inside the apartment. Pravin Jagtap's elderly mother, who had also been drugged days earlier, partially regained consciousness in an adjoining bedroom. Disturbed by the sounds of blunt-force blows and heavy movement, she managed to operate a phone and alert Pravin's brother. The brother rushed to Indraprastha Society, arriving almost simultaneously with a rapid-response patrol from the Baramati City Police.

Police officers forced entry into Flat 9, halted the masonry work, and dismantled the newly laid brickwork. Officers extracted Pravin Jagtap, who was bleeding heavily from head wounds, bruised across his upper body, and gasping for air. Emergency medical services transported him to a local hospital where he was stabilized. Police arrested Sharmila Jagtap at the scene.

Forty-Eight Hours of Chemical Intoxication and Assault (July 30 – August 1, 2026)

The physical execution of the plot began at approximately 11:30 PM on July 30, 2026. Sharmila Jagtap served her husband a glass of fruit juice mixed with a potent, crushed dose of unprescribed sleeping medication. Pravin drank the juice and within hours collapsed into a profound state of unresponsiveness that lasted for nearly 48 hours. To prevent interference, Sharmila similarly drugged her mother-in-law, who was residing in the flat.

Throughout July 31, Pravin remained completely unconscious while the masonry setup was organized. By the morning of August 1, as the chemical sedation began to wear off slightly, Pravin drifted into a semi-conscious state. It was then that the physical assault took place. Armed with a solid wooden cricket bat, Sharmila repeatedly struck her incapacitated husband across his head and body to maintain control and prevent escape.

In subsequent statements provided from his hospital bed, Pravin Jagtap described the terrifying ordeal:

"She gave me sleeping pills, and I slept for two days. On the third day, I woke up slightly because she was beating me with a bat. I was telling her not to beat me, but she did not listen. After that, she picked me up and put me in the pit on the balcony. But when the workers came, they saw that I had moved my hand or leg. My life was saved because he called the police."

Once Pravin was incapacitated by physical trauma and chemical sedation, Sharmila dragged his body onto the balcony gallery and placed him inside the hollow masonry enclosure. Forensic analysts noted that had the worker not spotted the movement and alerted authorities, asphyxiation inside the sealed concrete structure would have occurred shortly after the Kadappa stone was mortared into place.

Premeditation, Esoteric Markings, and Logistical Setup (July 13 – Late July 2026)

Forensic evidence demonstrates that the crime was meticulously planned over several weeks. During their search of Flat 9, police investigators seized a paper wall calendar hanging in the living area.

Under the dates of July 13 and July 14, 2026, investigators found handwritten inscriptions reading "No Result". Astronomical records confirmed that both dates coincided with Amavasya (the New Moon phase), a period traditionally associated in regional folklore with occult practices or ritualistic timings.

Pravin Jagtap brought these calendar entries to the attention of investigators, alleging that his wife may have been practicing witchcraft or attempting an earlier ritualistic poisoning that failed, prompting the phrase "No Result". While police have not formally declared an occult motive, the calendar was submitted to handwriting experts and forensic document examiners to analyze its significance in establishing premeditation.

In the days following the Amavasya dates, Sharmila executed the logistical preparation for the attempt:

• She obtained heavy CNS sedatives over the counter from a local commercial medical store without a doctor's prescription.

• She hired local construction workers to transport bricks, sand, cement, and dense Kadappa stone slabs up to the apartment gallery, framing the work as a routine home modification.

• She scheduled the masonry construction to coincide with the period when her husband would be fully incapacitated by the sedatives.

Domestic Baseline and Historical Background (Pre-July 2026)

The background of the household reveals a decade-long marriage that had increasingly deteriorated into domestic friction. Pravin Prakash Jagtap worked as a industrial operator at the Bharat Forge manufacturing plant in the MIDC industrial area of Baramati. The couple lived in Flat 9 at Indraprastha Society with their two children and Pravin's elderly mother, presenting the outward image of an ordinary middle-class family.

Interrogations of extended family members and neighbors revealed that persistent marital disputes had escalated over recent months regarding financial management, personal grievances, and household stability. Detectives are combining these historical domestic issues with physical evidence—such as the ₹2 crore term insurance policy, the calendar entries, and the illegal pharmaceutical purchases—to construct a comprehensive motive for the upcoming trial.

While media reports drew comparisons to the popular Indian crime-thriller Drishyam—in which structural construction is used to conceal a murder—investigators note that real-world evidence relies on physical logs, witness testimonies, and emergency calls. The timely intervention of observant workers and rapid police dispatch ultimately prevented a fatal outcome.

Comprehensive Chronological Timeline

The following reverse-chronological timeline details the sequence of verified events in the Baramati attempted murder investigation, tracking the case from present-day legal proceedings back to its earliest known origins:

• August 2026 (Present Status): Suspect Sharmila Jagtap remains in judicial custody. Police pursue multi-angle investigations focusing on a ₹2 crore term life insurance policy motive, pharmaceutical licensing violations for unprescribed sedative sales, and legal petitions filed by victim Pravin Jagtap for custody of his two minor children.

• August 1, 2026 (~11:30 AM): Masonry laborers setting mortar over a balcony concrete enclosure at Flat 9, Indraprastha Society, notice movement from the victim's leg and hand inside the pit. A worker discreetly dials emergency number Dial 112. Baramati City Police arrive, break open the brickwork, rescue Pravin Jagtap alive, and arrest Sharmila Jagtap at the scene.

• August 1, 2026 (Morning): Pravin Jagtap regains partial consciousness after nearly 48 hours of drugging. Sharmila Jagtap assaults him with a wooden cricket bat, causing severe blunt-force trauma, before dragging him into the newly constructed balcony vault. Simultaneously, Pravin's drugged mother wakes up in a bedroom and calls her second son, who rushes to the flat.

• July 30, 2026 (11:30 PM): Sharmila Jagtap administers a heavy dose of unprescribed sleeping pills dissolved in fruit juice to Pravin Jagtap and his elderly mother. Both fall into a prolonged, deep state of unconsciousness.

• Late July 2026: Sharmila Jagtap procures heavy sedatives from a local commercial pharmacy without a prescription and hires local construction masons to erect a custom brick-and-cement enclosure in the living room gallery.

• July 13–14, 2026: Sharmila Jagtap allegedly writes "No Result" across the July 13 and July 14 dates on the home wall calendar, coinciding with Amavasya (New Moon). Investigators evaluate this evidence for potential occult motives or earlier failed poisoning attempts.

• Pre-July 2026: Pravin Jagtap maintains steady employment as a technician at Bharat Forge MIDC Baramati during a decade-long marriage marked by escalating domestic and financial disputes.