J-K Police nab accused domestic help after hunt in DG Prisons’ murder

SRINAGAR — The prime accused in the murder of Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General (Prisons) Hemant K Lohia, Yasir Ahmed, was apprehended on Tuesday after a massive search was launched to nab him.

Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, described it as an “extremely unfortunate” incident.

Mukesh Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone, said Lohia, a 1992-batch IPS officer, was found dead with burn injuries on his body and his throat slit when he visited the house in Udaiwala on the outskirts of Jammu.

The guards stationed at the officer’s residence observed fire in Lohia’s room. He explained that they had to break open the door because it was locked from the inside.

The ADGP said the preliminary investigation of the crime scene points to murder and the interrogation of the accused is underway. “The investigation has begun. Senior officers are on the scene,” the officer said, adding that the J&K Police family is devastated by the death of their senior officer.

Mukesh said some CCTV footage collected from the incident site also showed the suspected accused running away after committing the crime. “He (Ahmed) had been working at this house for nearly six months. Initial investigations reveal he was quite aggressive and was also suffering from depression as per sources,” Singh said.

He added, “Police have also seized some documentary evidence, including his diary, reflecting his mental state.”

What appears to be Ahmed’s diary reveals a depressed mind fixated on death. “Dear death, come into my life,” says a note. “I’m sorry I am having a bad day, week, month, year, life,” says another.

The diary has songs in Hindi, one of which is titled, “Bhula dena mujhe (Forget me)”. Other pages are filled with short sentences and notes – “I hate my life”, “Life is just grief…” – and one has a chart that starts with a drawing of a phone battery labelled “My Life 1%”, “Love 0%, Tension 90%, Sad 99%, Fake Smile 100%.”