Three Nepal natives have been arrested for allegedly murdering a 77-year-old man in a village in Rohru Subdivision of Shimla district, six days after they committed the crime.
The accused have been identified as Lal Bahadur (28), a native of Jalma village in Nepal, Naveen (19) and Santosh (20), both residents of Jhadeli village in Nepal. All the three were working as labourers in an apple orchard owned by a local.
Addressing a press conference here, Shimla Additional SP (City) Mehar Panwar said that on June 16, police received information that Geeta Devi (77), a resident of Shalash Dogri village in Rohru was found dead in her home.
Acting swiftly, a police team rushed to the spot and recovered the dead body.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that several unknown people had entered her house with the intention of theft and had murdered her. Police then proceeded to collect crucial evidence including biological and physical evidence, which were collected by the Forensic team, which led to a conclusion that the case was of a blind murder” she said.
The ASP also said that the case appeared to be highly challenging as there were no eyewitnesses at the scene, no CCTV cameras were installed at the house and its nearby areas and no significant theft of valuable property was confirmed at the scene.
“However, as the investigation proceeded, police utilised extensive human resources and technical resources and extensively questioned the family members of the deceased, acquaintances, and other relevant individuals. Footage from CCTV cameras installed along the route leading to the scene was analysed, suspicious vehicle movements were studied and mobile tower dump data was thoroughly analysed,” she said.
“Through continuous and tireless efforts by police teams, the case was developed by linking scientific, technical, and human evidence. Based on the evidence obtained during the investigation, police arrested the three individuals on June 22 after they found that the accused were present near the crime scene on the day of murder, through technical analysis. On the basis of evidence, the suspects were interrogated, during which they confessed to killing the woman. A stick was also recovered, which was used by the accused to attack the woman” she said.
The ASP further added that the accused confessed that they entered the house with a motive of theft and stole Rs 10,000, along with a golden pendent from the said house.
She said that further investigation is under way.
