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Panchkula man’s body found wrapped in gunny bags
“We have arrested three persons. The accused murdered the victim as he had asked them to return the ₹26,000 that he gave to Harsh as a friendly loan,” Raipur Rani station house officer Sukhbir Singh said
The body of a 52-year-old man, who was missing since Wednesday night after he left to get loaned money back, was found wrapped in two gunny bags near Netaji Stadium in Raipur Rani on Thursday morning.
The victim’s throat was slit, and the head and face also bore injuries inflicted by sharp-edged weapons, while his legs were bound with a leather belt.
Cracking the case within hours, police arrested Harsh, his wife, Simran, and their relative Tushar, all residents of Raipur Rani, for the murder of Ravinder Kumar, a resident of Manak Tabra village in Panchkula.
Ravinder ran a stationery shop near the government school in Raipur Rani. As per police, Harsh works in the deputy commissioner’s office in Panchkula, while his wife is a homemaker and Tushar is a student.
After Ravinder didn’t return home all night, his family launched a search and found his body wrapped in two gunny on the unpaved road near Netaji stadium around 6.30 am on Thursday. “We have arrested three persons. The accused murdered the victim as he had asked them to return the ₹26,000 that he gave to Harsh as a friendly loan,” Raipur Rani station house officer Sukhbir Singh said.
In his statement to police, victim’s brother Jatinder Kumar said Ravinder was standing outside his shop around 7 pm on Wednesday, when Harsh visited him. Stating that he will return the ₹26,000 loan that he owed Ravinder, Harsh asked him to accompany him home.
At 9.45 pm, Ravinder’s son Ashutosh called Jatinder that Ravinder had not returned. Ashutosh told him that Ravinder had left saying that he was going to collect money from Harsh and was not answering calls.
After waiting the entire night, the family started searching for Ravinder and even went to Harsh’s house at 5.30 am. His wife, Simran, opened the door and said neither Harsh nor Ravinder was there. She was washing clothes.
The family noticed blood stains in the doorway and on following the blood trail, found Ravinder’s body dumped near the stadium. They alerted the police, raising suspicion on Harsh, his wife and their relative Tushar. Later, on searching Harsh’s house, police recovered blood-stained clothes from the washing machine and a spotless house, indicating attempt to remove evidence. CCTV footage from a nearby house also showed two persons on a motorcycle carrying something wrapped in gunny bags.
A case under Sections 302, 201 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Raipur Rani police station. The accused will be produced before a court on Friday.
