Kutch shopkeeper who consumed acid after ‘murdering’ teenage girl in Rajkot dies

“He died late night while undergoing treatment in Rajkot civil hospital. His body has been sent for post-mortem (PM) and we will know the exact cause of his death after the PM report is available,” said JS Geddam, assistant commissioner of police (south) of Rajkot.

The shopkeeper from the Madhapar village on the outskirts of Bhuj town in the Kutch district was hospitalised late on March 3 after he allegedly consumed acid inside a hotel room where he was staying with the teenage girl. He informed his brother about his suicide bid, the police said.

He was initially rushed to a private hospital in a critical condition but was shifted to Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay Government Hospital, popularly known as Rajkot civil hospital, in the city.

The police said the shopkeeper and the 17-year-old girl checked into the hotel in the Karanpara area of the city on the morning of March 3. The girl, who was pursuing an engineering diploma from a college in Rajkot, was found unconscious in the hotel room, said the police adding that the shopkeeper choked her to death by tying a plastic cable around her neck.

The police said that the shopkeeper’s relatives were neighbours of the girl and that the two were in a relationship but things took a turn for the worse in the hotel room.

A case of murder was registered against the shopkeeper by the Rajkot city police. “We are still awaiting the FSL (forensic science laboratory) report to ascertain the cause of her death. The investigation is still on,” said Geddam.