Ahmedabad, March 21 (IANS) Nearly five years after a murder and robbery case in 2021 went undetected in Chhattisgarh, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch has now arrested the main accused, police said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Ajaykumar alias Lakshmisagar alias Kimtishri Mishra, was apprehended from Ahmedabad’s Naroda area after evading arrest for several years following the crime in Tikrapara, Raipur.
Investigators said the case stemmed from a prolonged family dispute over property.
Shakuntala Yadav, the widow of Amar Yadav, lived with her younger son, Amit Yadav, while her elder son, Ajay Yadav, had been residing separately since 2017.
According to police, Shakuntala and Amit frequently quarrelled with Ajay over property matters and had allegedly conspired to have him killed.
Amit Yadav, who worked at Narayan Hospital in Raipur, came into contact with Mishra, then employed there as a security guard.
“Knowing his criminal background, they hired him to kill Ajay Yadav for Rs four lakh and paid Rs one lakh in cash as an advance,” officials said.
Police said Mishra took the advance but fled to his native place without executing the plan.
Months later, Shakuntala and Amit travelled there and pressured him to either carry out the killing or return the money.
“The accused assured them that he would complete the task within a short time,” officials said.
About four months later, Mishra, along with an associate, Ketan alias K.T. Ramasundar Tiwari from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district, went to Shakuntala’s residence under the pretext of carrying out the contract.
“By then, Amit Yadav had been jailed in connection with another offence, leaving Shakuntala alone at home,” DCP (Crime) Ajit Rajian told IANS.
Police said the accused abandoned the murder-for-hire plan and instead decided to commit robbery.
“They stayed at the house overnight and, the following morning, allegedly strangled Shakuntala with a cushion before fleeing with around Rs 10 lakh in cash and 30 to 35 tolas of gold jewellery,” Rajian added.
The stolen gold was later sold in Kaushambi, police said.
To evade arrest, Mishra maintained what officials described as “digital silence”, avoiding mobile phone use and refraining from using identification documents such as PAN or Aadhaar cards.
He moved across locations, including Goa and Mumbai, before settling in Ahmedabad in 2022 while concealing his identity.
“Based on technical intelligence and inputs from informants, the accused was traced and apprehended,” officials noted.
Police officials added that coordination is underway with Raipur police to transfer the accused’s custody for further legal proceedings.
–IANS
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