‘Desperate’ Basant rang up mother for Rs 4-5 lakh,but she said no

Basant,also accused of murdering husband and mother-in-law of his paramour Sarita,has told the Chandigarh Police that he ran out of money. According to Basant,he was left with only Rs 350 and was “desperate” to arrange more money.

In his interrogation,Basant has told the Chandigarh Police that he had around Rs 70,000 after he had murdered the husband and mother-in-law of Sarita in Sonepat on April 18. “Basant had to sell Sarita’s gold chain for Rs 23,000 and an earring for which he fetched Rs 6,000,” said an investigating officer.

Though Basant maintains that he had come to Chandigarh to catch a bus for Delhi,the Chandigarh Police is not convinced. The police suspect that Basant may have come to Chandigarh to seek financial help from one of his friends. “Knowing fully well that the Chandigarh Police was on his lookout,Basant would not have taken a chance of coming to Chandigarh just only to catch a bus for Delhi. He could have easily gone to Delhi straight from Shimla. It seems that he is trying to hide the actual reason for his visit to Chandigarh,” said a police officer.

‘Trusted friend betrayed me’

Basant never wanted to give up or surrender before the police. Immediately after he stabbed Inspector Sucha Singh to death,he had phoned his friend Ombir,a constable with Delhi Police,seeking help. Basant trusted Ombir the most and was in regular touch with him after he committed murders in Sonepat. Chandigarh Newsline was the first to report that Ombir’s phone was put under surveillance by the Haryana Police after knowing his proximity with Basant and it was Ombir who helped the Haryana Police in his arrest. The moment Basant rang up Ombir,the Haryana Police was alerted. In his interrogation,Basant has told the Chandigarh Police that he got “suspicious” after Ombir had left the hotel room on the pretext that he had to withdraw cash from an ATM

machine to pay money to the hotel owner. Basant has told the police that he was “betrayed” by his friend who helped the Haryana Police in his arrest. Ombir had booked two rooms in the same hotel after Basant and Sarita reached Delhi.

Hotel waiter helped in Basant’s arrest Fearing retaliation from Basant,his friend Ombir advised a waiter of the hotel to help the Haryana Police in arresting Basant. Taking the alibi that the photograph pasted on one of the identity cards of Basant was “not clear”,the waiter knocked at the door asking for a “better photograph”. The waiter requested Basant to give an alternative identity card having a better photograph to complete the formalities of checking in. Basant took the bait and opened the door of the hotel room to find a team of Haryana Police officers.

‘Bought rat poison

to commit suicide’

Maintaining that he had considered committing suicide,Basant has said that he had purchased a bottle of rat poison from Shimla. Rubbishing it as a cock and bull story,the police are of the opinion that Basant had no intention of committing suicide. “He never wanted to give up. The fact that he brutally murdered Inspector Sucha Singh and escaped clearly demonstrates that he never wanted to surrender or commit suicide. Having committed three murders,he would not have shied from committing further crime to ensure that he and Sarita are not caught,” said a senior police officer.