PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Jyotirmath
Karnaprayag police claimed to have solved the mystery of an unidentified body found on the banks of Alaknanda river a month ago and arrested the suspected murderer. The scientific investigation and technical expertise of the SIT and SOG teams, formed under the directive of the superintendent of police, Chamoli, Surjeet Singh Panwar, solved this sensational blind murder case, police said.
Notably, police had received information on March 10 that an unidentified body had been found lying on the banks of the Alaknanda river below the Chandika Mata Temple in the Langasu area. Upon arrival, the police team observed that the deceased’s hands and feet were tied with plastic rope, suggesting a case of murder. Though the name was written on the deceased’s right hand, no immediate identification was possible due to the absence of documents confirming the name. Locals from nearby villages were called to the scene to identify the body, but no one could identify. After 72 hours of attempts to identify the body, a post-mortem was conducted as per the prescribed procedure and the body was cremated according to Hindu rites.
Police, privy to the details of the probe, said that the inscription ‘Sooraj Purohit’ in English on the deceased’s right hand had proved to be the most crucial link in the investigation. The murder case took a new turn on March 23 when the deceased’s wife, Manju Devi identified the body after seeing photographs and the name circulating on social media. His family members stated that Suraj had been missing since February 15. Based on the complaint filed by Purohit’s wife, a joint team of SIT and SOG was immediately formed and directed to gather scientific evidence. During the investigation, it came to light that the deceased was staying at a hotel in Nandprayag and working at a dhaba run by one Narendra Topal. During interrogation, Topal stated that Suraj had left his job on February 15, but police found that he had borrowed Rs10,000 from the deceased.
Subsequently, the police team conducted a thorough review of CCTV cameras in the Nandprayag area. In one of the footage, Topal was seen carrying the deceased’s body in a plastic bag in his car towards Jhulaghat bridge on the night of February 16. He was also seen returning some time later and washing the vehicle. Based on the evidence, when Topal was interrogated once again, he broke down and confessed to his crime.
