No body, no murder!

WHAT HAPPENS when a murder takes place, but police can?t find the body? Simple, the person cannot be charged with murder, even if the accused accepts the crime before the police and there is corroborative evidence to support the murder charge.

WHAT HAPPENS when a murder takes place, but police can’t find the body? Simple, the person cannot be charged with murder, even if the accused accepts the crime before the police and there is corroborative evidence to support the murder charge.

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The trial of such a case is going on in the Sessions Court at present. On October 5, 2005, Kamal Verma (30) of 15, Jai Bhavani Nagar, falling under the Aerodrome police station, was murdered by Sanjay Khushwa and Mukesh Lodhi, both residents of Sabrisbagh.

Mukesh and Sanjay had some monetary dispute with Kamal, as a result of which they wanted to kill him. The duo came to Kamal’s house and offered to take him for a ride on their motorcycle, with the promise of having some fun and entertainment. An unsuspecting Kamal agreed, and the trio went to Ralamandal. They had food and liquor and then Mukesh and Sanjay strangled Kamal with a clutch wire.

The killers then put the dead Kamal between them and drove the motorcycle to the bridge over Narmada River in Khalghat and threw the body into the river, and then went home.

After investigation police confronted Mukesh and Sanjay and the duo confessed to killing Kamal. They told the entire story to police and also showed the spot where they murdered Kamal. Police found the clutch wire, which was used to kill Kamal, a key chain, a pearl necklace, a purse and rubber sandals – all belonging to Kamal.

The two accused had removed the stuff from Kamal to make it difficult for anyone to identify the body through personal belongings. Police found all the stuff in a secreted place after the accused led them there.

Now came the question of finding the body. The hunt for the body started around a week after the murder, but even though divers were used and the entire stretch of the river was searched, the body could not be traced!

Since the law demands that a body must be found for a murder charge to stick, the police charged the duo under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention and Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) The only consolation for the police is that the punishment under Section 364 of IPC is life imprisonment.

In a bizarre case that is currently being tried in the local Sessions Court, police are unable to nail two persons who have confessed to murdering an acquaintance, simply because they are unable to find the body.