Affair, blackmail lead to Chandigarh murder: Police

Amarjot Kaur

Chandigarh, February 2

Eighteen days after a woman was found murdered with multiple stab wounds near the city railway station on January 15, the Government Railway Police (GRP) today claimed to have cracked the murder mystery.

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Sameem, aka Saleem, a resident of Mauli Jagran who has been remanded in three-day police custody by a court in Panchkula, told the police that he had illicit ties with the deceased for four-five years, but was being blackmailed by her for money over the past six months. A police official said he told them that he had paid the woman Rs1 lakh so far and decided to kill her when she threatened to frame him and his son in a police case.

GRP SHO Vilayati Saini said he scanned footage stretching over several hours to nail the accused. “We scanned the footage of over 10 CCTV cameras installed on the route from the Mauli Jagran police station, where the woman worked, to the crime scene,” he said.

Saini said they first identified the e-rickshaw which was taken by the woman and the alleged killer on the evening of the murder. “From there, after questioning local e-rickshaw operators, we found the three-wheeler driver, Shyam Lal. He told us that on the fateful day, the woman first boarded the rickshaw. The suspect and an accomplice then sat along with her on the way,” he said.

The e-rickshaw driver, who also came to know about the woman’s death, helped identify the killer. The police also checked the CCTV footage in which they saw the suspect and his accomplice in the auto-rickshaw. Saini said the woman’s family had already been suspecting Saleem’s involvement, but they did not have any proof at the time.

Saini said they were trying to nab Saleem’s accomplice too. The official said the two men and the victim got down near the crime scene to talk. However, in the middle of this, the woman told the duo that she had to answer nature’s call. When she went into the woods near the Panchkula side of the station, Saleem hacked her to death, while his accomplice kept guard.

Made weapon in own shop

Murder suspect Saleem owns a cycle repair and welding shop in Mauli Jagran. He has a daughter who is visually impaired and a wife who has an injury in her spine. The police said he had been in an affair with the deceased woman for four-five years. He told them during interrogation that even the sharp weapon he used to hack the woman to death had been prepared by him in his shop. “He said the woman had started blackmailing him after she started working at the Mauli Jagran police station. He said he was not able to get his family treated either. Tired of the blackmailing, he said he decided to kill her and roped in an accomplice to help him commit the crime,” said a police official.

Refused to admit crime at first

GRP SHO Vilayati Saini said the suspect at first tried to get the police off his back at the station, saying he was in his shop the entire day on January 14, the day he committed the crime. However, he could not produce any alibi. When he was confronted with the CCTV footage of him travelling in the rickshaw, he confessed to the crime, said the SHO.