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The Inside Story
24/02/12
Bhopal: The special task force (STF) is learnt to have solved the mystery behind the sensational murder of journalist Chandrika Rai and his family in Umaria following arrest of five persons, who were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a PWD officer’s son.
The accused, said sources, are residents of Shahdol and were involved in kidnapping of SDO Hemant Jharia’s son Anant (7). The accused murdered Chandrika on suspicion that he was in possession of the ransom money given by SDO for his son’s release, said sources.
On last Sunday, when the accused approached Chandrika demanding the ransom money, he denied. This allegedly led to an altercation between Rai and the kidnappers. They attacked Chandrika with iron rods and other heavy objects, killing him on the spot.
“After killing Rai, the accused eliminated his wife and two children to ensure no witnesses were left,” said a police officer wishing anonymity.
“It’s clear that these five were involved in kidnapping and the murder but whether or not Chandrika was involved, is yet to be confirmed. We cannot simply rely on what these criminals claim” the officer said. Investigation is still on to collect corroborative evidences.
Director General of Police (DGP) SK Rout is likely to make an official announcement of the case on Friday evening. After SDO Hemant Jharia’s son Anant was released by abductors on February 18 , the Umeria police had called a press conference to announce this, and gave a clean chit to the two suspects they had rounded up. They had also said that the release was made without ransom. The murders took place a few hours after the press meet.
“We hope to soon solve the mystery behind the murder which was committed by professional persons,” STF additional director general of police (ADGP) Sanjay Choudhry told reporters in Umaria.
He reached there to inspect the murder site and visited the house of the slain journalist before leaving for Nourojabad in connection with the incident.
PCI team to visit Umaria: The three-member team fact-finding team of the press council would be headed by Kosuri Amarnath and include Rajeev Ranjan Nag and Kalyan Barooah, a council statement said. All the three are members of the council. The task before the team is to investigate into the murders and submit a report to the council at the earliest.
The council sought the cooperation of the state authorities on behalf of its team.
“The Madhya Pradesh authorities are being requested to give all cooperation to this committee so that it can discharge its duties effectively,” the statement said. The Council has been taking the issue of journalists security with several state governments.
BHOPAL: A seven-year-old boy, the son of a sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the public works department (PWD), was allegedly abducted from Umaria town on Wednesday evening. The police have no clues about the child or the identity of abductors even 24 hours after the incident. It is the third incident of kidnapping in three days in the state. On February 13, a 14-year-old boy, the son of an industrialist was abducted from Bhopal. The next day, a son of trader was kidnapped from Ratlam.
The victim's family reportedly received ransom calls demanding Rs 6 lakh for the release of the child. Though tight-lipped about the case, the police admitted that calls were received from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The police have not succeeded so far in tracing the origin of calls.
"The case is under investigation. We are not in a position to reveal anything,'' SP Manohar Singh Jhamra told TOI. Sources in the police department, however, said a team comprising an additional SP and three investigating officers is being sent to Uttar Pradesh.
The kidnapped boy, Anant Jhariya, is a student of class II. The son of SDO PWD (electrical and mechanical) Hemant Jhariya, Anant, had gone to tutorial classes with a friend. After tutorials, the two boys walked together till the stadium before going their ways. Anant, who was last seen walking towards his home alone, went missing between 6 and 7 pm, the police said. When the boy did not reach home, his parents began looking for him.
Courtesy:
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-BHO-stf-cracks-murder-case-of-journalist-chandrika-rai-2903382.html?PRVNX=
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-24/bhopal/31095180_1_abduction-hefty-ransom-kidnapping
