Charred body found in burnt auto in Loni

Some locals informed the police on spotting a completely burnt auto rickshaw in the fields, prompting a police team rushed to the spot

Ghaziabad: A charred body of an unidentified person was recovered from a burnt auto-rickshaw on Wednesday morning in the open fields, located behind an industrial area in Loni’s Agraula area, police officials said, adding that the body suspected to be of a man was lying in the passenger section of the vehicle.

The body is completely burnt and it is not possible to identify whether it was of a man or woman. The autopsy will reveal it. We are treating it as a case of murder and destruction of evidence, the ACP said. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Officials said that some locals informed the police on spotting a completely burnt auto rickshaw in the fields, prompting a police team rushed to the spot.

“We found a completely charred body suspected to be of a man. The auto had completely burnt down, and it was still hot due to the fire. It is suspected that someone set it afire and also the suspected man. The body was still sent for an autopsy, and reports are awaited. The report will establish if the man was murdered and set afire along with the auto,” said Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (Loni circle).

The police said that the area does not have a presence of any Close Circuit TV and is located about 2 kilometres from the Delhi-Saharanpur Road, which passes right through Loni.

“As of now we could not ascertain the identification of the deceased. However, our teams are trying to ascertain the owner of the auto-rickshaw with the help of its chassis number. For now, our teams will try to establish the identity of the deceased and also the owner of the auto,” the ACP added.

Officials attached to the case investigation said that they have roped in a field unit to pick up clues from the scene of crime and DNA samples from the body will also be preserved as part of investigation.

“The scene of crime has two roads leading to it, and it is still to be ascertained which route was used to drive the auto to the scene of crime. Our teams are scanning CCTVs installed on all routes which may lead to the scene of crime. The body is completely burnt and it is not possible to identify whether it was of a man or woman. The autopsy will reveal it. We are treating it as a case of murder and destruction of evidence,” the ACP added.

The incident took place under the jurisdiction of the Tronica City police station area, said officials, adding that some locals spotted the vehicle around 10.30 am.