Bihar trader’s skeleton found in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district after 104 days

Later, Mithlesh’s brother Umashankar Prasad paid ₹10 lakh as ransom on June 11 but this didn’t lead to his brother’s safe return as promised.

Jharkhand police late on Monday recovered skeletons of two persons including that of a cloth merchant from Bihar’s Aurangabad from a forest area in Garhwa district.

The skeleton recovered from Palamu forests have been sent for DNA testing. It is suspected to be of the kidnapped Palamu trader. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Cloth merchant Mithlesh Prasad (68) and his driver Shrawan Prajapati were abducted on May 25 by armed men at around 11.15 pm Palamu district’s Kanda valley while returning from Chhattisgarh after visiting Prasad’s daughter. Prasad’s wife Rita Devi, who was let off by the kidnappers, lodged a police case against unidentified criminals.

Later, Mithlesh’s brother Umashankar Prasad paid ₹10 lakh as ransom on June 11 but this didn’t lead to his brother’s safe return as promised. “Abductors assured us that we will find our brother at Hariharganj Bazar, Palamu, but he never returned,” said Umashankar. After June 13, the abductor’s phone was switched off.

Mithlesh’s younger brother Sanjay Prasad then filed a petition in Ranchi high court seeking directions to the state police to trace his brother.

Palamu police chief (SP) Chandan Kumar Sinha told HT that two history sheeters were arrested following a tip off and they confessed their involvement in the case and also revealed names of three other accused. Those arrested were identified as Premnath Yadav, his relative Ajay Yadav, Amresh Yadav, Shafik Ansari and Omprakash Chandravansi. They confessed to have collected the ransom after killing Mithlesh and his driver. The mastermind of the gang, Premnath Yadav was a police personnel posted at Deoghar, police said.

Based on Premnath’s confession, police on Monday recovered the buried bodies from Pundaga forest in presence of a scientific team. The skeletons have been sent for DNA testing.