GUWAHATI:
Four months after the kidnapping and murder of a 32-year-old man in the city’s Rukmini Nagar area, the city police cracked the case and arrested all six accused, including a video editor of a city-based news portal from various locations of the city.
The police arrested the main perpetrator Ajay Kalita (30), a resident of Panjabari, Bagharbori, Sweetland by-lane in Satgaon. He is the radiology sales manager at Apex Medical System, Zoo Road Tiniali in the city.
The second accused is Debajit Deka (26), a resident of Basistha, Ganesh Nagar, Shiv Darshan Path. He works as a video editor for North East Now (an English news portal).
The four other accused are Pranab Ranghang (25), a resident of Amguri under Baithalangso PS, West Karbi Anglong; Sanjay Kumar Bhagat (26), Sivai Bhagat, Berkuchi, Narengi under Noonmati PS; Paras Chetri (24) a resident of Bonda, near forest camp under Pragjyotishpur PS, and Mayur Nath (24) a resident of Narenngi, Ramesh Tiniali under Noonmati PS.
“The Bolero vehicle which was used for the abduction and few other accused have been identified but yet to be arrested,” said Diganta Barah, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati city.
The police registered a case vide Dispur police station case No 2284/2022 under section 365/387 of IPC in this connection.
The six-member-gang abducted Biswajit Hazarika (32) son of Edhan Ch Hazarika, a resident of house No 12, Dakshin Rukmininagar, Namghar Path, from near Tangara Sattra, when he was returning from his workplace at “Ousadh” pharmacy near NRL Petrol Pump in Six Mile area of the city on October 9.
Based on a complaint lodged by his father Edhan Ch Hazarika (65), the police registered a missing case vide Dispur PS MMR no 189/22 on October 9, 2022.
On October 14-15 2022, the gang called up Edhan Hajarika from WhatsApp of his missing son’s number and sent one video of his son, kept confined in an undisclosed location, and demanded a ransom of Rs 40 lakh on WhatsApp messages in return for the safe release of his son.
On October 19-20 2022 the group called Hazarika to Paltan Bazar bus stop and railway station respectively for delivery of the demanded ransom money. But nobody appeared to receive the same at the given places.
Similarly, on October 21, 2022, the complainant was called to Rukmini Nagar, Six Mile in the morning and but none appeared to receive the ransom.
The kidnappers used the victim’s mobile phone to contact the complainant through WhatsApp.
Even though the police carried out the investigation they could not collect any actionable lead.
On February 9, the old parents of the missing boy met the Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah following which a special team was formed with officers from Crime Branch. Based on the information available, the special team started working further on the case.
The team started working on multiple directions based on technical as well as conventional methods of investigation.
Finally, a piece of information about the recovery of one unidentified body was received from Nelie Police Outpost of Morigaon district. The unidentified body was recovered by Nelie Police on November 1 from Amguri under Nelie Outpost. In this regard, Jagiroad PS case No 385/2022 under section 302 of IPC was registered and an investigation was carried out but without any further lead.
“The city police team carried out further investigation, consulted Nelie Police Station and came to the conclusion that the unknown body was of the missing victim Biswajit Hazarika,” Barah said.
“The team further worked on the leads so far collected and finally cracked the case and identified the accused persons involved in the crime. The accused Ajay Kalita first mooted the idea of kidnapping an easy target for earning money and discussed it with Pranab Ronghang,” Barah also said.
Ajay identified the victim as an easy target. The accused thought that the victim belonged to a rich family and also that the victim’s family owns the pharmacy Oushadh.
Ajay and the victim had studied in the same school, “Ankur Seminary”, Survey and the accused was one-year junior to the victim.
“On October 9, 2022, at about 7:30 pm when Biswajit Hazarika was returning home from his workplace “Ousadh” Pharmacy in a rickshaw, Ajay Kalita and Mayur Nath followed him (in a Suzuki Zixar bike of one of Ajay Kalita’s friend), stopped the rickshaw near Tangra Sattra,” Barah said.
“Pranab Ranghang, Paras Chetri, Debajit Deka and Sanjay Kumar Bhagat arrived in a Bolero at the spot and forcefully took the victim in the Bolero vehicle. The accused persons took the victim to Amguri under Nelie PS in Morigaon district and detained him inside one newly constructed bathroom of the house of Pranab Ranghang.
“The videos of the victim in a confined state were recorded by Debajit Deka, the video editor of North East Now, and sent those video clips to the victim’s father. The kidnappers kept giving ransom demands to the victim’s father but could not execute their plan of collecting the demanded ransom money,” the police commissioner said.
As time was running out and the kidnappers got conscious of getting caught, Ajay Kalita and Pranab Ronghang decided to kill the victim to destroy all evidence of the crime.
“On the night of October 23, 2022, the night before Diwali, accused Ajay Kalita and Pranab Ranghang brought the victim to the hanging bridge of Gopal Krishna Tea Estate over Killing river under the jurisdiction of Neli Out-post, strangled him by his neck using a plastic rope,” the police commissioner also said.
“While he was still alive, they tied the unconscious victim to a concrete post used for fencing the tea garden, wrapped him up in a large jute sack and threw him into the Killing river,” he said.
Neli Outpost recovered the body on November 1, 2022, from the Killing river and registered Jagiroad PS case no 385/2022 under section 302 of IPC.
“The main intention of the crime was to extort money,” Barah said.
“A team of Crime Branch and Dispur PS staff conducted a raid at the house of Pranab Ranghang at Amguri, Neli and apprehended him. The Bathroom where the victim was kept confined has been found and searched,” he said.
All the accused arrested so far have confessed to their involvement in committing the heinous crime.
One Maruti WagonR vehicle bearing registration no AS13 B 3403 which was involved in the commission of crime has also been picked up.
The Bolero vehicle used for kidnapping the victim has been identified and soon it will be seized, he added.