Woman, hubby, kin held for killing mahant of Haridwar ashram

ROORKEE: Three persons, including a 30-year-old woman, were arrested for allegedly axing to death a mahant of a local ashram in Takabhari village under Bhagwanpur police in Haridwar district.

Mahant Brijesh Das was head of Ravidas Ashram and had gone missing on Feb 5.“We have recovered the body from the Krishna river in UP’s Baghpat. The axe used in the murder, the partially burnt mobile phone and other incriminating evidence have also been recovered,” said SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar. Police said Das was allegedly in a relationship with the accused woman, a resident of Gangnauli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, and the woman, along with her husband and brother-in-law, conspired to eliminate the ascetic.The case came to light after one Shyam Singh, a resident of Takabhari village, approached police on Feb 10 and lodged a missing person complaint, stating that Das was untraceable for five days. During investigation, police examined call records and found that a woman from Gangnauli had contacted the mahant shortly before he went missing.A police team reached Gangnauli and detained the woman, her husband and her brother-in-law for questioning.

During sustained interrogation, the trio allegedly confessed to the crime.Police said the woman revealed that Das used to visit her relatives’ house where she came in contact with him. She said the mahant had been blackmailing her over their relationship, following which she decided to remove him from her path. She then involved her husband and brother-in-law in the murder plot.Police said the woman allegedly called Das to her residence in Baghpat district on Feb 5 and murdered him. The accused later transported the body on a motorcycle at night and dumped it into the Krishna river along with the vehicle. The mahant’s mobile phone and blood-stained clothes were set ablaze and hidden in a fodder storage room, police said.