Retd Air Force officer was drugged in MP before set on fire, 6 arrested

The accused confessed to their crime and said they killed Sahu over a dispute over ₹5 crore that the deceased was demanding from Naresh Gurjar, one of the main accused, said police.

Six arrests have been made in the murder case of 53-year-old retired Indian Air Force officer Rajesh Sahu, whose semi burnt body was found in a car in Chhindwara district on December 27, according to police.

The retired air force officer's body was found charred inside his burnt out car. (ANI file photo/Representational use)

The accused, including Naresh Gurjar, Ashok Agrawal and four others injected Sahu with a drug and later poured petrol over his car and set it on fire with him trapped inside, said Vivek Agrawal, superintendent of police (SP), Chhindwara.

Police arrested the accused under section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC), said the SP.

Sahu, who lived in Bhopal, left for Chhindwara on December 26 to see his parents who reside at Guraiya Marg in the city. However, his dead body was found in his car in a semi burnt condition, away from the road in a 20-foot deep ditch between Jhirpa and Rainikheda under Mahuljhir police station on December 27.

“It took more than two weeks to nab the accused. The accused confessed to their crime and said they killed Sahu over a dispute over ₹5 crore that the deceased was demanding from Naresh Gurjar, one of the main accused. Naresh Gurjar, a resident of Bhopal, hatched the plan to kill Sahu with the help of Ashok Agrawal. The duo requested Sahu to take them to Chhindwara. Inside the car, they forcibly injected him with a drug that knocked him out. Then they poured petrol on his car and set it on fire to kill Sahu,” said the SP.

According to the officer, the deceased and Gurjar used to deal in properties while Ashok Agrawal maintained the accounts. When Sahu checked the records he realised that he was supposed to get ₹5 crore from Gurjar. Since then he had been putting pressure on him to pay.

The accused were arrested on the basis of their mobile phone locations and call records. Police are interrogating them and will produce them before a court on Friday.