Blind murder solved; one held

PATIALA, Nov 12: Dera Bassi police claim to have solved a murder case by arresting the alleged killer and recovering the weapon used in t...

PATIALA, Nov 12: Dera Bassi police claim to have solved a murder case by arresting the alleged killer and recovering the weapon used in the crime.

Harcharan Singh Bhullar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dera Bassi, talking to The Indian Express on telephone, said the case had been solved with the arrest of the alleged killer, Roshan Lal, who had confessed his involvement in the crime. Bhullar said the murder took place because the killer suspected some illicit relationship between the victim and his wife.

Bhullar said that 20-year-old Ranbir Singh, a resident of Sehjadpur village, was murdered on the intervening night of October 17-18 and his dead body was recovered near Handesra village, towards Barwala side. The police registered a case in this connection on the complaint of Sukhraj, a brother of the deceased, at Lalru police station, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Bhullar added that as investigations progressed, the police came to know that Ranbir Singh was last spotted with Roshan Lal, a resident of Tundwal village. After getting the clue, a policy party was sent to the house of Roshan Lal, who was absent from his house. The police then started surveillance of the house of Roshan Lal and he was caught on October 30.

Bhullar said that in the initial stages of interrogation, Roshan Lal did not cooperate with the police, but later, he broke up and confessed his crime. He admitted that he doubted Ranbir Singh had some illicit relationship with his wife and deciding to teach Ranbir a lesson, he hatched a plan, under which he called Ranbir from his place on October 17 on the pretext of taking paddy to a rice mill in Ambala.

During the return journey, Roshan Lal purchased some liquor and soon got Ranbir in an inebriated state. When they were near Handesra, he took the tractor trolley towards Barwala Link Road and stopped the trolley at a deserted place. He then took out a knife and attacked Ranbir on his ear and neck. After killing Ranbir, he dragged his dead body out of the tractor trolley and fled after throwing the body near the road side.

After he reached home, Roshan Lal asked his wife to wash away the blood from his clothes. He then himself washed the tractor trolley and also the knife used in the crime, which he hid in his house. Later, he fled from his house.

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When The Indian Express asked about the Dhakauli incident, Bhullar said the police was on the look out for the suspected persons and said it was the work of an inter-state gang of robbers. He said he was hopeful to get a clue in this connection soon, as the police had stepped up vigilance in this regard.