E-Paper
Ludhiana: Double murder accused arrested from Haridwar
Police said that the accused, Girdhari Lal, murdered dairy owner Jot Ram as the latter refused to give him money; He hacked his co-worker Bhagwant Singh to death as he woke up and tried to raise alarm
Two days after the shocking double murder of the dairy owner and his employee, the police on Tuesday arrested the accused from Haridwar in Uttarakhand and recovered the murder weapon from his possession.
Police said that the accused, Girdhari Lal, murdered dairy owner Jot Ram as the latter refused to give him money. He hacked his co-worker Bhagwant Singh to death as he woke up and tried to raise alarm.
Commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that though the accused was identified, the challenge was to trace him as the accused has no family, no permanent residence in the city. Moreover, he was not using any mobile phone following which it was difficult for the police to trace him.
Sidhu said that the police formed several teams for the arrest of the accused and on Tuesday, he was traced from Haridwar.
“Girdhari Lal had quit the job a few months ago, but had rejoined two months back. He was asking Jot Ram to clear his dues of ₹50,000. However, Jot Ram refused him the money saying that he has already cleared all his dues. Girdhari Lal was annoyed over this and he hatched a conspiracy to murder Jot Ram,” said Commissioner of Police.
“Girdhari Lal hacked Jot Ram with a sharp-edged weapon in his sleep on the intervening night of February 25 and 26. His employee Bhagwant Singh woke up hearing his cries and tried to raise an alarm. Girdhari Lal killed Bhagwant Singh to death and dragged his body in the storeroom, where fodder was stored,” he added.
Sidhu said that the accused is convicted in two cases. He was arrested by Jagraon police in a case lodged against him on February 15, 1996 for smuggling 40.20 kg opium. Later, he was arrested by GRP Sangrur for smuggling 15 kg poppy husk. He was convicted by the court in both cases. He was released from jail after he completed his sentence.
Jot Ram, 64, and his employee Bhagwant Singh, 65, were found murdered on February 26 at a dairy in Bulara village.
DGP Gaurav Yadav has granted DGP Commendation Discs to 12 officers involved in arresting the accused. Cash reward of ₹1 lakh each has also been announced for the two police teams.
Police scanned CCTVs to trace the movement of the accused in Punjab and Haryana and Uttarakhand.
The video footage showed that the accused boarded a three-wheeler near Gill railway station in the city and reached Sherpur Chowk. He boarded a bus going to Ambala in Haryana, from where he took a bus to Yamuna Nagar and de-boarded at Jagadhari.
CCTVs at Jagadhri bus stand were lying non-functional, so the police started enquiring locals and traced his movement to Uttarakhand.
