Gujarat: Man strangled after argument as gay date goes wrong in Chhota Udepur, say cops

The Kawant police station on Thursday arrested Sabut after lodging a case of murder and loot, two days after discovering the body of Bansinh on January 14 from a field in Jamli village.

Police said that Sabut and Bansinh lived in neighbouring villages and had entered into a “same-sex relationship” earlier this month.
On January 14, the police had found Bansinh’s body in Jamli village, about four kilometers away from Kawant taluka, where the two had allegedly gone to “engage in physical intimacy”.

Kawant Police Inspector B S Chauhan told The Indian Express, “While Bansinh hailed from Raisingpura village, Sabut hailed from Baidiya village. After the body of the deceased was found, we examined CCTV footage of various places and spotted the victim on his motorcycle along with the accused on January 14, heading towards Khantiyavant area … We identified Sabut from the footage and called him for questioning.”

After initially denying his presence at the spot, Sabut allegedly told the police that the two had first met about a week ago in Kawant. “On January 13, the two went to a deserted location on a roadside field with tall standing crops of pigeon peas. According to Sabut, the two got into a heated argument during their encounter after which he strangulated Bansinh with a muffler… He also took away the mobile phone of the victim and destroyed the SIM card. He had tried to steal his silver bracelets but was unsuccessful in removing them,” Chauhan added.

The Kawant police will conduct a reconstruction of the sequence of events during the remand period of Sabut that ends on Sunday. Bansinh is survived by his wife and two children, said Chauhan, adding that Sabut is also married.