Accused arrested as murder case solved in Khudwani: Police

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday claimed to have solved a blind murder case of a Jammu man whose body was found inside his oil tanker in Khudwani area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

The man involved in the crime has also been arrested from Jammu with the help of Jammu Police.

A police spokesman said that in the wee hours of Wednesday, Police Station Qaimoh received information regarding the presence of a dead body in an HP Oil Tanker bearing registration number JK02AV-1625 parked on the roadside along with its front door opened near Khudwani bypass on Srinagar-Jammu Highway.

The deceased was identified as Partap Singh, son of Onkar Singh of Jajarkotli, District Jammu. “A criminal case with FIR number 08/2020 under section 302 IPC was registered and investigation started. Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by SDPO Qazigund under the close supervision of Additional SP Kulgam for investigation of the case,” the spokesman said.

“The SIT conducted the investigation in a very professional and scientific manner and based on certain clinching evidence recovered and collected from the scene of occurrence, zeroed in on a suspect namely Sukhdev Singh, son of Keer Singh of Sair Rakhwalan PS Domana, District Jammu,” police said.

Accordingly, police said that a team was deputed to Jammu for arresting the suspect. The suspect was arrested from Anand Nagar, Jammu with the aid of Jammu Police and during his examination at length, he confessed that he has committed the crime.

The accused has disclosed that he came to Qazigund on March 2, 2020, and enticed the deceased to sell the Kerosene oil loaded in a tanker to a private person known to the accused. The fuel was sold for Rs 7.70 lakh and the said amount was transferred to the account of the accused on March 3, 2020, as per the police.

“The accused along with the victim arrived at Khudwani bypass near a bridge and parked the vehicle there. During the intervening night of March 3 and 4, the accused conceived a plan to murder the victim with the intention of grabbing the whole amount which had already been transferred to the accused’s bank account,” police said.

“The accused violently assaulted the victim and hit his head with a stone and also assaulted him with a knife till he died. After the commissioning of the offence, the accused boarded a private taxi from Khannabal, Sumo Stand and fled to Jammu i.e. Anand Nagar where he was putting up at a rented accommodation from where he was arrested. Further investigation of the case is continuing,” police said.