GURUGRAM:
Police launched an extensive combing operation involving 250 cops in the Aravalis on Thursday morning, to look for
Raju (40), the key suspect in Tuesday morning’s triple murder, in which the bodies of Ghamroj villagers were found in the foothills with their throats slit.
Raju had gone mysteriously missing, while the bodies of his wife
Komal Bai (38) and that of a couple, their neighbours —
Lakhan (32), his wife
Sheela (30) — was found two days ago. All four were from neighbouring villages in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh and were known to each other for long. Raju and Komal have three sons, who they had left with Raju’s parents in their native village to come to work in Gurugram.
Lakhan’s brother-in-law
Kalicharan, who lives in Sector 92 and works as a driver, took charge of all three bodies when they were released after post mortem, and took them over to their native villages late in the evening on Tuesday. Post-mortem reports suggest all three were attacked with a sharp weapon, ruling out rumours of a man-eater on the prowl. But the murder weapon is yet to be found. They were cremated on Wednesday.
All four — Lakhan, Sheela, Komal Bai and Raju — had gone to collect firewood from jungles in the Aravali foothills near Ghamroj on Monday afternoon. When they didn’t return till late in the night, police were informed, who ordered a search during which their bodies were found in the foothills on Tuesday morning.
Based on a complaint filed by Kalicharan, an FIR was registered against unidentified people under sections 302 (murder), 201 (hiding evidence) and 346 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC at Bhondsi police station. Identifying Raju as the prime suspect — hinting at an illicit relationship behind the killings — cops carried out raids to question residents of the area. Around 6.30am on Thursday morning, a team of cops and villagers headed by ACP (Sohna) Birem Singh Poswal and ACP (Bhondsi) Hitesh Yadav began combing an area of over two square kilometres for two hours, carrying safety equipment because of the presence of wildlife in the area. At the end of it, though, they are still clueless about Raju’s whereabouts and the cause of the murders.
Three special police teams are now conducting raids at places where they suspected to find Raju, while a fourth team was sent to their native villages in Madhya Pradesh. “There was a huge uproar in Raju’s village, that he was coming here to hide,” said Kalicharan from their MP village, adding “Villagers searched for him everywhere, but he couldn’t be found.” He also said Raju’s three sons are in shock.
“Our teams are on the job. A team was sent to Raju’s village and are combing nearby areas now. The picture will become clearer only after we find Raju,” said Ashok Bakshi, DCP (south).
Lakhan