Dehradun, July 1 (IANS) In a remarkably successful operation, Uttarakhand’s Chamoli Police on Wednesday solved a ‘blind murder’ case involving a local resident and apprehended the suspect almost one and a half months after the crime.

The victim, identified as Rajendra Singh, who left his house for work on May 18, had first gone missing, then a few days later his dead body was spotted by locals, prompting a police enquiry. The case was complex and posed serious challenges as there was no information about his personal enmity, leading to his murder, nor accusations against anyone.

However, the Chamoli Police managed to crack the ‘murder mystery’ and nabbed the suspect on Wednesday, based on inputs gathered by the forensic team and extensive search operations.

Rajendra Singh, a resident of Devpuri village, had left home for work on May 18. Hours later, his mobile phone was found to be switched off, and he went incommunicado, leaving his family members in panic and distress. The family lodged a complaint with Gairsain Police, which conducted searches with the assistance of a dog squad but found no leads.

It was about a week later, on May 23, that a dead body was found in a ravine in Village Devpuril. The police, along with the Forensic Team, inspected the site as well as the dead body. The deceased was found to be missing Rajendra Singh.

Both his legs and one arm were tied with a rope. The FSL team collected his mobile phone, slippers, and water bottle and, based on scientific evidence, lodged a case of murder, replacing the earlier missing complaint, under Section 103(1)/238 of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).

Given the gravity of the crime, a SIT team was constituted under the Deputy SP for a detailed investigation into the blind murder. The SIT team inspected the crime scene, analysed technical evidence and followed the ‘inputs’ as gathered by the dog squad. Upon zeroing in and sustained interrogation of the suspects, it caught Devendra Singh, a resident of Chaudadhar village, for the alleged murder.

Details are yet to emerge about the sequence of events leading to the murder and the motive of the accused, but the arrest brings a sense of closure for the blind murder case, which could have gone into the records as a ‘missing’ case.

On Wednesday, the accused was produced before the court, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody, where he will be further interrogated for the reasons behind the murder and possible involvement of more people.

–IANS

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