Three arrested for murdering truck driver, looting iron rods in Jharkhand's Giridih

Giridih (Jharkhand), Nov 24 (PTI) Jharkhand Police on Monday arrested three persons for allegedly murdering a truck driver and attempting to loot iron rods within Bagodar police station limits in Giridih district, officials said.

Giridih SP Bimal Kumar told reporters that the body of truck driver Dheeraj Kumar, a resident of Alauli-Ladoura village in Khagaria district of Bihar, was recovered on November 16 near Santrupi forest.

"The truck was later found abandoned near Saraiyahat-Hansdiha Road within Hansdiha police station limits in Dumka district on November 18," the SP said.

Based on technical surveillance, intelligence inputs, and information provided by the truck owner, Ranjit Roy of West Bardhaman in West Bengal, police identified three suspects — Zainul Khan and Dawood Khan, both from Jarmune in Bagodar, and Dwarika Singh, a native of Samastipur, Bihar.

"All the three accused are truck drivers and knew the victim and had planned this operation since the last few months. During interrogation, the accused said they had intended to eliminate the driver, loot the truck and the iron rods being taken from Haldia (Bengal) to Banaras (UP)," the SP informed.

"Since they knew the victim, they intercepted his iron ore laden truck near Bagodar and sat with him, drank liquor and drugged him with marijuana. They then took him to the Santrupi forest and assaulted him and threw his body in the forest and escaped with the truck," police said.

The three accused were remanded to judicial custody on Monday.

Bagodar police station officer-in-charge Vinay Kumar Yadav said the truck and the iron rods was valued at over Rs 1 crore. PTI ANB MNB