Two days after the body of a man was found dumped in a blue drum in a vacant plot in Giaspura Chowk, the Ludhiana police Friday said that the case was solved with the arrest of six people, including five of a family. Police said that the arrested accused include a man, his wife, their three sons, including two juveniles, and an accomplice.
Police said that an altercation broke out in drunken state, following which the victim identified as Manoj Chaudhary, alias Raju, was beaten to death. After he died on the night of June 23, the accused kept his body overnight at the family’s rented accommodation in Bharti Colony.
The next day, they tied the body with a rope, packed it in a plastic bag and then stuffed it in a blue drum. They later hired an e-rickshaw and dumped the drum in a vacant plot, and told the e-rickshaw driver that it was “garbage”.
Police identified six arrested accused as Fagu Prasad (60), his wife Usha Devi (52), their son Neeraj Kumar (23), and two minor sons aged 16 and 14. The sixth accused was Seedu Kumar (20) who is Neeraj’s friend. All the accused are the residents of rented rooms in Bharti Colony, Street Number 5.
Probe said that Manoj and Neeraj were friends and had spent the evening together consuming alcohol at family’s rented room on the night of June 23. An argument happened, and in a fit of rage, Neeraj and Seedu thrashed Manoj, causing fatal internal injuries. Instead of reporting the incident, they kept his body in their room overnight. The next morning, they tied Manoj’s body with a rope, stuffed it into a blue drum, and convinced e-rickshaw driver Rohit, to dump what they claimed was “garbage”, in a vacant plot.
ADCP-2 Karanveer Singh said that Manoj’s body was found tied with ropes and stuffed inside a blue plastic drum. The drum was abandoned in a plot. He said that CCTV footage gave crucial leads and some people were seen transporting the drum in an e-rickshaw.
Police said that Usha Devi played an active role in “packing” the body, while Fagu and his two minor sons connived to dispose of the corpse. Police said that the e-rickshaw driver, Rohit, helped in identifying the accused.
An FIR for the murder was registered at division number 6 police station.
