It is believed to have been knocked down by a speeding vehicle on the Pune-Mumbai highway.

While the forest officials have ruled out the possibility of the deer being hunted, the fact that the deer must have come from the vicinity has sparked off many suspicions.

The spotted deer is one of the rarest animals in the Sahyadris. It is not endemic to Pune or its nearby regions.

When contacted, noted wild-life expert Sanjeev Nalawade expressed the possibility of the deer being kept captive by one of the companies in the Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt.

"It is quite possible that the animal must have been a captive at a residence of a company officer or College of Military Engineering (CME) officer. It must have made an attempt to escape and met with the fatal end," he said.

He added that keeping the rare animal in captivity was an offence.

Anil Khaire, director of Akurdi Snake Park who along with garden superintendent of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation S M Bhondve was among the first to arrive at the spot at about 2.30 p.m., also endorsed the same view.

The deer was four years old and one and a quarter feet tall. Many witnesses said the deer was semi-conscious when it was spotted in the gutter.

After the arrival of forest officials in the evening, the carcass was sent to a veterinary hospital for post mortem after a panchanama.

Meanwhile, a huge crowd had gathered at the spot disrupting the normal flow of traffic on the highway.