Delhi Police uses BNSS to start in absentia murder trial for first time

The Rohini court proceeded under BNSS section 356 after Jitender Mahto was declared a proclaimed offender, allowing charges to be framed despite his continued absconding.

For the first time in the national capital, Delhi Police has utilised the provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for trial in absentia in a murder case. It has filed a chargesheet, framed charges and started a trial in a case where it has yet to arrest the main accused given the seriousness of the crime.

Police said evidence from call records, location trails and witness accounts linked the victim Ramesh Bhardwaj to Jitender Mahto before his decomposed body was found in a drain. (HT Archive)

BNSS section 356 allows police and courts to go for in-absentia trial for proclaimed offenders in “heinous” cases. According to police, the law was introduced so that cases are not stuck in limbo in case the accused is not caught in time.

There were no provisions under the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) — which the BNSS replaced in July last year. Only in a few cases, some exceptions were made, allowing witnesses to record statements without any arrests.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (outernorth), Hareshwar Swami, said the case was lodged in January this year after a 68-year-old man, Ramesh Bhardwaj, went missing from his home in Narela. Police said they later found that his employee, Jitender Mahto, had also gone missing.

“Investigation also revealed that the victim had recently received ₹4.5 lakh as part payment for a plot sale in Mukundpur. He was last seen with Mahto. Multiple witnesses confirmed the deceased’s frequent visits to Jitender’s rented room. During investigation, detailed examination of Call Data Records, location data, and movement patterns of the victim and his associates were conducted. Investigators later used digital surveillance and, in February, Mahto’s son Abhishek Mahto was caught,” he said.

During interrogation, police said Abhishek revealed that his father had killed Bhardwaj and, together, they disposed off the body. “He also told us that Bhardwaj’s other son, Love Bhardwaj, was also involved. With Abhishek’sdirection, the highly decomposed body of the victim, packed in a gunny bag, was recovered from a drain near their locality,” said the DCP.

According to the DCP, they were not able to locate the main accused and the case had been stuck. “The court even declared him a proclaimed offender in June. We decided to expedite trial by issuing a non bailable warrant and filed a chargesheet in August. We requested that the trial must begin. Invoking the new law, Rohini court implemented this and framed charges for the offence of murder and kidnapping and criminal conspiracy,” he added.

Police said that after framing of charges, the witnesses will be examined and other legal proceedings will continue.