Gurjar, Dhakad case: Clueless CBI announces Rs 25,000 reward

Failing to identify the two deceased in the infamous Banshi Lal Gurjar fake encounter and the killing of Ghanshyam Dhakad after months of investigation, Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI) superintendent Rajshekhar on Wednesday announced a Rs 25,000 reward to anyone who can provide clues about their identity.

Failing to identify the two deceased in the infamous Banshi Lal Gurjar fake encounter and the killing of Ghanshyam Dhakad after months of investigation, Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI) superintendent Rajshekhar on Wednesday announced a Rs 25,000 reward to anyone who can provide clues about their identity.

The police had earlier claimed that Gurjar was killed in an encounter in Kukudeshwar in Neemuch district on February 8, 2009, while Dhakad, a resident of Motipura in Neemuch district, was declared dead after his body was found on March 10, 2011.

However, the police's claims unravelled when they caught Dhakad in December 2012, alive and well. In fact, both Dhakad and Gurjar, drug peddlers from the opium belt of Malwa region on the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border, were back from the dead to haunt them.

During questioning, Dhakad revealed how he had faked his death by planting his voter identity card next to the body to throw the cops off his trail.

The uncanny likeness of the body was enough to even fool his wife and family, who identified the body before cremation. Adding insult to injury, he also revealed that Gurjar was alive as well.

Thrown into a tizzy by the revelation, the police initiated an inquiry into the matter to determine the identities of the real victims.

After the local police and the criminal investigation department failed to solve the mystery, acting on the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court's directives, a CBI Delhi team led by superintendent Rajshekhar began probe into the matter on November 9, 2014.

Eight months on and the CBI team too appears to be out of its depth to solve this case of mistaken identity and are now looking get some clues with the lure of a Rs 25,000 reward.