Delhi police now nab the 'real' killers, to free innocents held earlier

NEW DELHI: Claiming to have cracked a two-month-old double murder case, police have arrested three criminals of a local gang for gangraping a woman in the fields of Kanjhawala in outer Delhi before killing the victim and her alleged lover.
The latest twist implies that the local cops had earlier arrested two innocent persons -the woman's husband and a relative -for the murders while claiming to have solved the case.Action is likely to be taken against these cops, sources said.
The grim tale began on February 19, when the body of a woman in her late 30s was found near a pond in the area. The next day, a man was found murdered in an adjacent area.
The local police did not waste much time in arresting the woman's husband and his relative for the murders. Their story was that the woman was in an illicit relationship with the slain man which had angered her husband. All was fine until Thursday when the crime branch arrested three criminals of the Rajesh Bawaniya gang who made a sensational disclosure. They confessed that four of them had gang-raped and murdered the woman even as her male friend was held hostage. He was subsequently killed as well.
The professionals that these men were, they dumped the bodies in different localities of the area to pass them off as individual murders.
The crime branch has evidence to back their claims and substantiate the fresh disclosures, they said.
According to DCP (crime) Ram Gopal Naik, the mobile phone of the deceased woman and the belt of the slain man, used to strangle them both the victims, has been recovered.
The case has been transferred to the crime branch. The woman's husband and the relative will be discharged, police said, adding that no charge sheet had been filed against them.
The three arrested men are: Jasbir Dabas alias Jassu, 31, from Rani Khera, Devender Kumar alias Bablu, 30, and Manjeet alias Harvinder, 35, from Madanpur Dabas. Two more accused identid as Vikas alias Jailla and fied as Vikas alias Jailla and Mohit are absconding.
Initially, the murders seemed to be separate incidents. They were even reported on two separate days, one after another. However, the cops soon found a connection when the woman was identified.
“On February 19, information through a PCR call was received at PS Kanjhawala that the body of a woman was lying near a pond at Meer Vihar, Madanpur Dabas. The woman seemed to be about 37-38 years old and had a ligature marks around her neck,“ said an officer. Soon, a man identified her as his wife and reported that she had been missing since February 18 evening.
On February 20, police learnt about the other murder.Aman aged about 20-22 lay dead near the canal in Madanpur Dabas. A Hero Honda bike number DL4S BG 1086 was parked near his body . He was identified as Arun from Karana area. The bike was his and he had also been missing since the evening of February 18.
“During investigations, it was revealed that the two murder victims knew each other.Pooja (name changed) was allegedly in an extramarital relationship with Arun and it was suspected that they were mur dered by her husband. On the basis of suspicion, local police arrested the husband and his relative,“ DCP Naik said.
On April 26, ASI Priyavrat received information about some “desperate criminals“ who were involved in a gangrape and double murder in Kanjhawala. The informer told cops that the accused had not been named in the FIR.
After committing the crime, the accused had absconded for about a month before returning to their respective villages.
The information was developed, raids conducted and the accused arrested. They confessed to the crime and disclosed that they had been drinking in the fields of Madanpur Dabas village along with their two other associates when they spotted a couple on a bike.
Manjeet had left the spot just then. The four criminals overpowered them and committed the gruesome crime.Later, fearing identification, the men strangled both of them using Arun's belt. Manjeet helped them dispose the bodies.
The arrested men do odd jobs. One is a driver, the other a guard and the third is a property dealer. Manjeet was earlier involved in five cases of attempt to murder, assault and Arms Act. They work for gangster Rajesh Baaniya, who is in jail.