Nearly six weeks after a beheaded body with hands tied in the back was found in the Aravalli hills of Sohna, police on Friday said the killing was the result of a year-long revenge plot by Sonu, the brother-in-law of the deceased Sameer.
Officials said the blind murder was cracked only after forensic analysis of fingerprints of the deceased, when matched from a pan-India database of arrested persons, gave a probable match with a suspect nabbed by Rishikesh police 1.5 years back in a elopement case, leading to ascertaining the identity of the body and the arrest of four suspects, while the prime accused Sonu remains at large.
Investigators said Sameer, originally from Katghara Shankar village in Mau, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested in Rishikesh in December 2023 in a kidnapping case filed by Sunaina’s family after he eloped and had married her. He spent months in jail before securing bail in May 2024, after which he kept a low profile in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, fearing retaliation from his in-laws.
“Sonu earlier worked in Mumbai but later shifted to Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, solely to track Sameer. He stayed at the house of Ram Sadan, alias Vikky, 38, and his wife, Leela Devi, 38, where he shared his grudge and sought their help,” said Jitender, assistant commissioner of police, Sohna.
On July 4, Sonu, along with Mahesh Kumar, 35, of Nuh’s Kheri Kala, and Alim Khan, 32, of Rajasthan’s Tijara district, allegedly abducted Sameer outside his factory in IMT Sector 69, Faridabad. He was kept hostage at Leela’s residence before being taken to the Aravallis the next morning. “The suspects blindfolded, tied and assaulted him before slitting his throat with a sharp knife and fleeing,” ACP Jitender said.
The body, discovered on July 6 by a farmhouse guard, remained unidentified despite photographs being circulated across districts. Days later when no clue was received from anywhere, forensic experts forwarded fingerprints of the deceased to the Haryana Police’s State Crime Records Bureau, which analysed them and found that they matched with a man arrested in Rishikesh in 2023. That led police to establish the body was Sameer and connect the case to Sunaina’s elopement. His family later confirmed the identification.
Mahesh was arrested on Wednesday, and acting on his disclosures, police nabbed Ram Sadan, Leela and Alim from Bhiwadi on Thursday. All four are on a four-day police remand. “Leela played a key role in roping in the others,” the ACP said.
Meanwhile, Sonu remains absconding. Raids are on in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to track him down. Police said Sonu’s criminal antecedents will be clear only after he is arrested and suspected more persons may be involved in the murder. Sonu’s family members were also under the police scanner. Police said only after Sonu’s arrest, it will become clear who had severed the head of the deceased and who else are involved in the murder.