Uttarakhand: Man held for murder, dumping body in Alaknanda river over money dispute

Police recovered a body on March 10 near Chandika Mata temple by the Alaknanda river in the Langasu area, with the hands and legs tied with plastic rope.

A 47-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly murdering a man and dumping his body in Uttarakhand’s Alaknanda River.

A 47-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly murdering a man

Police recovered a body on March 10 near Chandika Mata temple by the Alaknanda river in the Langasu area, with the hands and legs tied with plastic rope, and later identified him as Sooraj Purohit with the help of a tattoo, Chamoli superintendent of police Surjit Singh Panwar said.

The suspect, Narendra Singh Topal, a resident of Chamoli and a kshetra panchayat member from Sartoli, had allegedly borrowed ₹10,000 from Purohit.

Police officers said that Topal cited repeated public arguments and humiliation over the unpaid debt as the reason behind the murder.

SP Panwar said that with no documents found, the body remained unidentified for 72 hours and was later cremated as per procedure.

“A tattoo reading Sooraj Purohit on the right hand was the only initial clue. The victim’s wife, Manju Devi, identified him on March 23 through images circulated on social media,” SP Panwar said.

Manju Devi told police that her husband was missing since February 15. “A case was subsequently registered at the Karnaprayag police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the murder. An SIT was constituted to solve the case,” SP Panwar said.

Police traced Purohit’s last location to Nandprayag, where he was staying and working—a job he got through Topal, the suspect.

“Our suspicion centred on Topal, who had borrowed ₹10,000 from the victim. CCTV footage from the area showed Topal transporting a body in a sack in his car on the night of February 16 towards Jhoolabagad bridge and later cleaning the vehicle. He confessed to killing Purohit, tying his limbs and throwing the body into the river, besides disposing of the victim’s mobile phone and other belongings,” the SP said.