GRP found man's body on tracks and registered it as an accidental death, but when the victim's brother appealed to court for investigations, the case was reopened; accused are still absconding
GRP found man's body on tracks and registered it as an accidental death, but when the victim's brother appealed to court for investigations, the case was reopened; accused are still absconding
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A brother's hunch acted as a strong antidote to the GRP's apathy in a case that has been dragging on for four months now. When Dayalal Dungarji Patidar (35) was found dead on the railway tracks near Bhayander on June 5 this year, the GRP simply registered it as an accidental death.
His elder brother Tejpal, however, suspected foul play and appealed to the railway court to investigate the matter. The court's injunction to the GRP came in September 20 earlier this year, after Tejpal claimed that he had reason to believe that his brother had been killed. Taking cognisance of Tejpal's petition, the court ordered the Vasai GRP to reopen the case, lodge an FIR, and conduct investigations.
Tejpal had alleged that Dayalal's wife Jaymala (26) was embroiled in an adulterous affair with a man named Kamlesh, and was frustrated with her impotent husband.
Sequence of events
Dayalal's body was found on the railway tracks in Bhayander on June 5 this year. The Vasai GRP registered a case of accidental death. They kept the body for five days at the Bhayander morgue, awaiting relatives to come forward and identify him. When none arrived, they cremated him.
When Tejpal learnt that his brother had passed away in a train accident, he approached the GRP. When the officers showed him a photograph of the body of the deceased, Tejpal smelt a rat. "I examined the photograph, and found that things weren't quite adding up. When a man falls under a train, his body is usually severed into pieces. But the photograph made it clear that he had only sustained severe head injuries. I brought this to the notice of the police, who were dismissive, and waved me away. Realising that they would not lift a finger to mete out justice to my brother, I approached the Vasai railway court," said Tejpal.u00a0
"When he was murdered, my brother was working at a hotel owned by Velgi, his wife's uncle. I recalled that on the day of his murder, my brother, who was living alone at Bhayander then, had gone to meet a friend at Malad. He later made his way back home. While he was dismounting the train, he called me up, just long enough to tell me that he was being approached by his wife's uncle, after which he hung up, saying he was low on balance."
Tejpal told the court that Dayalal was also unhappy in his marriage, and would frequently be embroiled in squabbles with his wife, who would repeatedly claim that he was impotent. The estranged Jayamala finally left the house and returned to her native village in Rajasthan.
Investigations revealed that once in Rajasthan, Jayamala conspired with her father Natsi to dispose of Dayalal, who thereafter asked her to return to Mumbai, assuring her that he would do the needful. Natsi then conspired with his brother Velgi, and Jayamala's lover Kamlesh to get rid of Dayalal. Natsi and Velgi urged Dayalal to accept the offer of a job at Hotel Hanuman in Bhayander (East), which Velgi owned.
"Within days of joining work, Dayalal was made to drink alcohol regularly. This was part of their plan," alleged Tejpal.
Petition filed
Tejpal's advocate Digambar Desai said, "We filed a petition on July 13 before the Vasai Railway Court, in which we accused the Vasai GRP of negligence. They should have registered a case of murder, instead of assuming it was an accidental death just because the body was found on the tracks. We submitted the post- mortem report that we had obtained from Tembha Hospital in Bhayander, which clearly mentions that Dayalal had sustained severe head injuries."
"On July 14, the railway court ordered the Vasai GRP to register a case of murder and conspiracy, naming Jayamala, Natsi, Velgi and Kamlesh as the accused. Even though three months have passed since then, no arrests have been made yet," said Desai. The railway court has ordered the Vasai GRP to submit a report today. Cops, however, claim that they have undertaken two trips to Rajasthan, but their efforts to nab the accused have proved futile.
Copspeak
A senior official of the Vasai GRP said that the unit had received orders from the Vasai railway court to update the case on September 20. He said,u00a0 "We have to dispatch our team to the Rajasthan village and check the mobile phone records of the four accused."
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