Rautahat, August 20

Police made public seven persons involved in the murder of Dalit youth Niranjan Ram of Basabiti Jigadiya in Garuda Municipality, whose throat was slit five days ago.

Speaking at a press conference organised at Garuda Area Police Office to make public the persons charged with the murder, DSP Gyan Kumar Mahato said investigation into the incident was under way.

“He seems to have been murdered over his illicit affair with a woman in the village.

We’ve started an investigation following a court order allowing seven-day custody,” said the DSP.

According to the DSP, Ajaya Kumar Ranjan, 20, Bibek Kumar Yadav, 19, Arjun Ram, 19, Sikindra Ram, 20, Bijaya Mahara, 19, among others, had murdered Niranjan as per a premeditated plan over his illicit affair with a local woman.

DSP Mahato further informed that the murder was cracked after they detained Shekh Ajad on the basis of call details from Niranjan’s mobile.

“After detaining Shekh Ajad and getting crucial information from him, we held the other persons with the help of sniffer dogs and the items found from the site,” he said.

It is learnt that the operator of local Sach Nursery had paid the boys to finish off Niranjan over his illicit affair with the woman from his family. Police have been accused of trying to save the nursery operator.

Police, however, said Ajad had taken full responsibility for the murder and the other six persons were arrested for abetting him in the crime.

They were taken into custody on Monday and presented at the court on the same day.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.