Baghpat Police on Friday thought they had the man responsible for his cousin’s murder, but what they found during questioning threw up something they had not expected.
The accused had earlier been convicted in a rape case, lied his way into the Indo-Tibetan Police (ITBP) force when he got bail and returned to kill his cousin who he suspected of helping the rape victim’s family, said police. Thirty-six-year-old Sandeep was found dead with four gunshot injuries on the terrace of his house in Faizpur village on June 24. Police began an investigation after his mother Satyaveeri lodged an FIR against unidentified persons at the City Kotwali police station.
“We collected call records of several local residents who had differences with Sandeep,” said Circle Officer, City, Dileep Singh. “A relative of the victim said he had seen Yashpal at the village on June 22 but had not met the rest of the family. When we questioned him, Yashpal said he had come to the village on June 24 evening only. This roused our suspicion. While scrutinising Yashpal’s call records, we found he may have lied about it.”
Yashpal, police said, was posted with the ITBP in Amritsar and had come to Baghpat on leave. “When we questioned him further, he admitted to killing his cousin,” said the officer. “He told us that he had indeed come to the village on June 22 evening and left for Meerut to purchase a pistol. He returned to the village on June 23 evening and told his friend Ajendra about what he had learnt and what he was going to do. On June 24 night, they scaled a wall, reached the terrace and shot Sandeep. Later they escaped via the same route,” Singh said.
On motive, Yashpal allegedly told police that he had been convicted in 2002 for a rape incident in the same district the previous year and had was sentenced to 10 years in jail. “He believed that his cousin was helping the victim’s family in the case,” said Singh. “When we asked how he came to be with the Indo-Tibetan Police, he told us that he had been granted bail by the high court in 2003 that was hearing his appeal. He then managed to enter the ITBP in 2009 while hiding the fact that he was convicted.”
Superintendent of Police, Baghpat, Jai Prakash, said, “I will write to ITBP informing about the case against Yashpal.” Meanwhile, Ajendra (32) and Yashpal were presented before a local court on Friday, which sent them to jail.