From struggling to pay college fees to building an empire: The story of Pune businessman kidnapped and murdered in Bihar

Pune-based businessman Laxman Sadhu Shinde landed at Patna Airport on April 11. Four days later on April 15, Bihar Police found his body at the Jehanabad district.

Shinde, 55, met a tragic end after he was lured to Patna through a seemingly genuine business enquiry via email by people who murdered him. According to an Indian Express report, the owner of Centrifugal Casting Bearing, located at Khedshivapur in Pune, built his company brick by brick after having come from a modest background.

From working at sugarcane field to building an empire

Laxman Shinde's story is one of resilience, followed by sweet success. As per a relative quoted by Indian Express, Shinde worked at the sugarcane fields as a child and struggled to pay his tuition fees for his engineering course.

“His family hails from Solapur, from a village named Maroli in Mangalvedha taluka, and he came from very modest beginnings. As a child, he worked in sugarcane fields. Despite all odds, he got admission to the College of Engineering Pune (COEP). When he came to Pune for his admission he had to sleep at Swargate bus stand. He didn’t even have the money to pay his fees. It was the principal of COEP at the time who personally stepped in and paid the fees for him. His life was a story of struggle and grit,” Vishal Lokhande, Shinde’s brother-in-law, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Shinde earned a degree in metallurgy and pursued a degree in MTech. After working for some private companies, he began to work on his dream of establishing his own company.

“He had built the Ratnadeep Castings on his own. Over the years, the unit has become a trusted name in the metal casting, forging and precision machines sector,” Lokhande, who is also the complaintant in the case, said.

He revealed that Shinde's company supplied materials to the defence sector.

“The unit had one of the largest production of particular items in the country. The unit supplies to various sectors and also has some clients from the Defence sector. It also has several clients abroad and has a strong export portfolio.”

What happened to Laxman Shinde?

Shinde was lured to Jharkhand by scammers who offered him a potential high-value order in crores related to mining equipment for operations in the state. Falling into the trap, he landed in Patna on April 11.

Laxman Sadhu Shinde's body was found in Bihar's Jehanabad district on Tuesday.

The Bihar Police have arrested seven persons, including a woman, in connection with the abduction and murder of the businessman.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Awkash Kumar said, “Police received a complaint from the family members of the Pune-based businessman stating that they were not able to contact him after he landed at Patna airport.”

"Based on findings of the preliminary investigation and scrutiny of the CCTV footage, police registered a case of kidnapping and constituted a special team to nab the accused. Police recovered from Vaishali the vehicle used in kidnapping the businessman and also took the owner of the vehicle into custody," he said.

Investigation suggested that the accused belonged to a gang of inter-state criminals who extorted money from people and also demanded ransom for the release of kidnapped persons, he said.

The accused had demanded a ransom and received around ₹90,000 from the family members of the Pune-based businessman. However, they killed him as the entire amount was not paid to them and dumped the body in Ghosi area of Jehanabad district, the SSP said, adding further investigation was underway.