Madhya Pradesh man proves brother’s murder two years after police shut case

Twenty-one months after his elder brother was killed, a resident of Manasa village in Dewas managed to prove that it was a case of murder.

Twenty-one months after his elder brother was killed, a resident of Manasa village in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh managed to prove that it was a case of murder, and not “accidental drowning”, as first concluded by the local police investigation the death.

Police line tape. Crime scene investigation. Forensic science. (Getty Images)

Subhash Sharma, 36, fought against a faulty investigation for two years and managed to prove -- with the help of videos and photos clicked by fellow villagers when the body was found in a local drain -- that his late brother Mahesh Sharma, 40, was brutally murdered on September 4, 2022 over a political rivalry.

Vindication came on June 30, 2024, when police in Sonkatch registered an FIR against Bharat Chawda and Jitendra Chawda under sections 302 (murder) and 120 b (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and arrested them on July 2. Last Tuesday, police also ordered an inquiry against the former investigating officer in the case, Neeta Darwal.

According to police, on September 4, 2022, Mahesh Sharma had gone to meet a doctor in Sonkatch but he did not return home till late evening. Subhash tried to call him up, but the phone was switched off. After hours of searching, some villagers suggested looking for him in a drain passing the village, but one of their neighbours, Jitendra Chawda, stopped them saying there was a ghost in the drain, making it unsafe in the night.

“At around midnight, I registered a missing complaint. When I returned from the police station at around 1.30am, another neighbour, Bharat Chawda, a childhood friend of my brother, informed us that his body was lying in a drain. Police reached the spot and villagers who were already present there were shooting videos. The body was fished out --- there were injury marks on the body and Mahesh’s shirt was wrapped around the neck as if he was killed by strangulation,” said Subhash.

“Everyone said it was murder, but police didn’t see that. Investigating officer Darwal said the reason behind death would be known in the post-mortem examination, and she did call the forensic science laboratory team for investigation. The autopsy said he died of drowning, and police closed the case on September 8, 2022, saying that it was an accident ,” he added.

Though Subhash moved to the district court, it was rejected on December 12, 2022, since he did not have proof to overturn the police’s initial probe.

Subhash was convinced that Bharat Chawda and Jitendra Chawda were behind the killing since it was Jitendra who first stopped villagers from going near drain, and later Bharat who found the body. Bharat also found Mahesh’s mobile phone four days of his death. he was also clear about the motive -- a political rivalry over the local sarpanch polls in which the Sharma and Chawda families were on opposite sides.

“I was clear about the suspects and their motive behind the murder, but I didn’t have evidence. I collected all the photos and videos shot by the villagers when the body was recovered. The body had multiple signs of injuries which could have only been caused by dragging,” said Subhash adding that he made a file of all the evidence and started filing complaint to senior police officers. Meanwhile, he filed an RTI report to get the post-mortem report and the details of the injuries.

His complaint reached Sonkatch police station on April 1, 2024, where inspector Shyam Charan Sharma saw merit in the case and started an investigation.

“Police collected the videos and photos from the villagers to cross checked with Subhash’s evidence. Police registered the statement of villagers and found the allegations of Subhash true. In call details and tower location, it was found that Mahesh Sharma last talked to Bharat, and that they were together on September 4, 2022 evening,” said Shyam Charan Sharma.

On June 30, police registered an FIR and later arrested the accused. Bharat and Jitendra Chawda confessed to the crime, saying they took Mahesh to the drain and killed him by forcibly holding his face inside the drain, said a police officer are of the matter.

When contacted, then investigating officer Neeta Darwal declined to comment.