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Ludhiana: Salem Tabri woman’s murder cracked, mechanic arrested
According to the police, the accused had deliberately tried to hide his face with the cap he was wearing, as he was aware that the area was equipped with CCTVs
Fifteen days after the body of Sonam Jain, 55, was found in the bathroom of her Salem Tabri house, police on Sunday arrested a 41-year-old air-conditioner (AC) mechanic in connection with her murder.
The accused has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar alias Kaku, a resident of Aman Nagar in Salem Tabri. Police said he killed the woman in an act of revenge after she allegedly insulted him and spoke ill of his mother when he failed to repay a loan.
According to the police, they are still verifying the confession statement of Sanjeev Kumar alias Kaku, 41. However, the police claimed that the accused had murdered the woman following a conspiracy. Sonam Jain was a financier and used to lend money to the people on interest.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Rupinder Singh said the police identified the accused after scanning the trail of CCTVs installed in the area. The accused had deliberately tried to hide his face with the cap he was wearing, as he was aware that the area was equipped with CCTVs. After confirming his identification, the police arrested him on Sunday.
“The accused confessed that he had borrowed ₹18,000 from Sonam Jain on interest basis a few months ago. The accused claimed that he failed to pay a few installments in time following which the woman abused him and used abusive language against his mother also,” said the DCP.
“In an act of revenge, he hatched a conspiracy to kill her. On June 21, he visited her house in the afternoon on the pretext of paying the installment against the loan. He pushed her, making her fall on the floor. He dragged the woman to the bathroom and strangled her to death,” he said.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (city 1) Sameer Verma said that the accused made no robbery attempt in the house. He added that the body of the woman was found in the bathroom on June 21. Acting on the statement of her husband Surinder Jain, who returned home in the afternoon for lunch, the Salem Tabri police had registered an FIR.
The CCTV installed at the main gate of the house captured a man entering the house at 11.15 am. “He came back to the gate after about 30 minutes, then re-entered and finally exited the house around 20 minutes later. The police scanned a trail of CCTVs and identified the accused.
Further, he added that the accused has executed the murder solely and he has no past criminal record.
