63-year-old tea stall owner murdered

A 63-year-old man was murdered in a canal near a college in Silani village, Sohna, on Thursday morning. The police said that the man had sustained multiple wounds

A 63-year-old man was murdered in a canal near a college in Silani village, Sohna, on Thursday morning. The police said that the man had sustained multiple wounds to his head, waist, face and hands.

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According to the police, the victim was identified as Hukamchand, a resident of Hajipur village in Sohna. He ran a tea stall near the college for the past six years. The incident took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, the police said.

In the complaint, the victim’s son, Sudhir, said, “My father and my younger brother, Sundar, work together at the tea stall. On Wednesday, around 7.30pm, another brother of mine went to the stall to give dinner to my father as he used to sleep near the stall.”

However, he could not be seen the next morning.

Sudhir said, “My brother saw only his cap, beedi and matchbox near the stall. He then called us and said that he is missing. After searching, we found his shoes, socks and some blood, at least 10 steps from the stall. It seemed as if he was dragged to the canal. We looked in the canal and found his body.”

The victim had been disrobed and the suspects allegedly tried to burn his clothes, which were later found near the spot. “His clothes were half burnt. His mobile phone and keys to the lock of the stall were missing,” Sudhir said.

Rajesh, sub-inspector (SI), Sadar Sohna police station, said, “The body was found by the victim’s family around 8.30am. We reached the spot as soon as we got the information. The suspects are yet to be identified and arrested. We are investigating the matter,” he said.

The police said that the victim’s body will be returned to his family after a post-mortem examination on Saturday.

A case was registered against unidentified suspects under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sadar Sohna police station on Thursday.