Burnt body, keypad phones, discarded SIMs: Cops crack murder case foiling elaborate evasion tactics

Lucknow, Dec 14 (PTI) The suspects in a murder case burnt the body, used basic keypad phones instead of smartphones, repeatedly discarded SIM cards and travelled through interior link roads to give police the slip. Yet, these very precautionary measures became the trail that led to the arrest of the six accused.

Police said the elaborate deception by the accused significantly slowed down the probe but failed to prevent their eventual arrest after weeks of sustained investigation.

The case relates to the killing of Kabir alias Shiv Prakash (42), a Lucknow resident, who was strangled, the body set on fire and dumped in Unnao district. The murder stemmed from a long-standing property dispute, police said.

The matter first came to light on November 19 when a missing person complaint was lodged at the Nigohan police station after Kabir failed to return home since November 15. As part of the search, probe officials contacted police stations in neighbouring districts and later received information about the recovery of a partially burnt, unidentified male body from the Bighapur area of Unnao.

After examining photographs and other identifying features, the victim's family confirmed the body to be that of Kabir.

Addressing a press conference on December 8, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Rallapalli Vasanth Kumar said investigators faced difficulties as the assailants had consciously avoided leaving digital or physical clues.

"The accused did not use smartphones, relied on locally purchased keypad phones, frequently changed SIM cards and avoided main roads and CCTV-covered routes," he said.

According to police, the murder stemmed from a long-standing property dispute involving a valuable land parcel located along the Rae Bareli-Lucknow Highway. Investigators said the land, originally in the name of the victim's mother, had been sold through a series of transactions.

Kabir had moved court challenging these deals and was personally pursuing the case. Police said the accused feared an unfavourable court verdict that could compel them to return large sums of money received from a real estate transaction.

On November 15, the victim was lured to a meeting point through calls made from a keypad phone so that he would not suspect that someone else was contacting him, police said. Two cars were used in the operation.

Once Kabir reached the spot, he was forcibly taken inside a vehicle and driven through the interior link roads to avoid CCTV cameras. He was strangled inside the car, after which the accused drove across districts in search of a secluded spot, according to investigating officials.

Police said the group eventually reached Bighapur in Unnao district, where the body was dumped in a roadside ditch and set on fire using petrol in an attempt to prevent identification. While returning, the accused destroyed evidence by breaking mobile phones and SIM cards and discarding them at unknown locations.

Following a detailed investigation, Sujit Kumar Srivastava, Pintu, Vinod, Neeraj Kashyap and Rajkumar were arrested on December 8 from the Nagaram area. Two Swift Dzire cars allegedly used in the crime were also recovered.

In a statement issued on December 12, police said another accused -- Dilip Rawat -- was arrested from near the Nigohan-Nagaram road following a tip-off.

Police said Dilip had played a key role in luring the victim and had been promised money for his involvement, receiving part of the amount after the murder.

With the arrest of all six accused, police said the case has been fully cracked, underlining that "despite attempts to erase digital and physical evidence, coordinated investigation and ground-level policing proved decisive." PTI KIS NSD NSD