Bhajanpura murder: Killer pretended to help family, CCTV footage gave him away

Kumar was the first to come up with the idea of getting photocopies of missing Tejaswi’s photograph so that it could be used to trace him. Kumar was actually working as per a plan to ensure that he was never seen as a suspect in Tejaswi’s kidnapping and subsequent murder.

Despite sharing a bitter relationship with his wife and father-in-law, Lalit Kumar was unusually active in searching for his 11-year-old brother-in-law who had suddenly disappeared while playing outside his Bhajanpura home on Tuesday afternoon.

Lalit Kumar, who killed his 11-year-old brother-in-law, in Bhajanpura, in police custody. Kumar tried to mislead the police by trying to help the victim’s family in finding him. (HT Photo)

Kumar was the first to come up with the idea of getting photocopies of missing Tejaswi’s photograph so that it could be used to trace him. “It was Kumar who proposed that we seek police’s help to trace Tejaswi,” said the boy’s uncle, Manish.

But little did Manish and others realise that Kumar was working as per a plan to ensure that he was never seen as a suspect in Tejaswi’s kidnapping and subsequent murder.

Kumar’s interrogation had revealed that he had been planning to abduct and kill Tejaswi for the past few days, said investigators. He had done a recee of the spot where he planned to kill the boy, allegedly as revenge against his wife who was seeking a divorce from him.

But police’s suspicion turned towards Kumar after a local woman said that Tejaswi was last seen on his motorcycle. When police began questioning him, he claimed he was at his friend’s place the entire time.

“Kumar presented his friend as an alibi. But when we questioned his friend, he broke down and revealed that Kumar had visited his home only for a few minutes in the evening,” said AK Singla, DCP (north-east).

Amidst all this, Tejaswi’s family had been scanning CCTV footage in and around their neighbourhood in Gangotri Vihar in Bhajanpura. “Footage from one camera showed Tejaswi riding on Kumar’s motorcycle. We immediately alerted the police and gave them the footage,” said Manish.

Now, certain that Kumar was behind Tejaswi’ disappearance, police indulged in sustained interrogation. “Initially Kumar denied any role. He would laugh hysterically when we would produce evidence against him,” said an investigator.

When Kumar finally confessed to killing the boy, two police teams searched the forested area for around two hours before finally finding the boy’s body. Kumar has been booked for kidnapping and murder and sent to jail.