Haryana shame: Suspect dead too

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jhansa (Kurukshetra), Jan 17

The decomposed body of Gulshan (18), who was being considered the prime suspect in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old Dalit girl, was fished out from Batera head of Bhakra canal’s Narwana branch near Kirmach village, on Kurukshetra’s outskirts, late last night, giving a new twist to the case.

The place is about 25 km from Gulshan’s native village Jhansa. “Till yesterday, he was tagged as a conspirator in a heinous crime, but today he himself turned out to be a victim of unknown circumstances,” said Leela Devi (75), a neighbour.

SP Abhishek Garg said Gulshan’s body was identified from a tattoo on his arm.

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His uncle Ramesh Singh blamed the police for harassing the family. “More than 10 of our relatives, including Gulshan’s brother, father and two minors, have been in police custody for several days. Release them,” he said.

Another relative Manjit Singh said Gulshan’s body was found semi-naked. “It appears to be a case of murder. We hope the autopsy at BPS Medical College in Sonepat will bring out facts.” Police sources said they could not rule out “honour killing”.

The 15-year-old girl had  gone for  tuition classes when she went missing on January 9. On January 12, her semi-naked body was found at Jind’s Budha Khera village. It was alleged that the girl’s private parts were mutilated and her liver ruptured. Gulshan’s name was mentioned in the FIR as an accused.

ADGP RC Mishra said so far an autopsy had been conducted only on the girl’s body. “It is premature to conclude the cause of death and other suspected brutalities only on the basis of the autopsy. We need more corroborative forensic tests. Injuries on organs may have been due to rough material in the canal,” he said.