Inspired By 'Drishyam', Rajasthan Man Kills Woman, Burns Body, Dumps Remains In Lake

Inspired by the Bollywood thriller 'Drishyam', a Rajasthan man allegedly killed an elderly woman, burnt her body and dumped the remains in a lake, hoping that he would get away scot-free if police did not find the body.

The accused, Ramesh Lohar, is a class 5 dropout who loved watching thrillers and true crime shows like Crime Patrol. He told police that he decided to kill the woman, Chandi Bai (70), as he wanted to steal her jewellery, Udaipur Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manish Kumar said.

Chandi Bai, who belonged from the Dholi caste, was playing drums at an event on January 9 when the accused saw her. She was wearing heavy silver and gold jewellery, the ASP said.

On February 22, Ramesh lured Chandi Bai into his van by offering her Rs 1,100 to perform at a function. He then drove around for hours and switched off his mobile phone to mislead the authorities. At night, the accused took her to an isolated location and hit her multiple times on the head with a screwdriver, Kumar said.

The accused then took off her jewellery, switched off her mobile phone and threw her bag along with the mobile phone into a nearby jungle, the officer said.

Ramesh then drove to a dumping yard, covered the body with debris and set it on fire to ensure that there was no trace left. The next morning, he went back to the dumping yard to collect the woman's remains and dumped them in a lake. He believed that just like the movie "Drishyam", he would not get caught if the body was not found, according to the ASP.

However, it was not a foolproof crime as police found small pieces of the woman's skull in the dumping yard.

During a forensic analysis, bloodstains and human hair were also found in Ramesh's van. The hair samples were later matched to those collected from Chandi Bai's bed, ASP Kumar said.

The case unfolded over two months after Chandi Bai's family reported her missing.

Concerned by the lack of progress, Chandi Bai's relatives approached senior officials and expressed apprehension that she might have been murdered. An FIR was registered and the investigation was handed over to the ASP.

During the investigation, some people claimed that they saw Chandi Bai being picked up by a silver-coloured van on February 22. Upon further inquiry, investigators found that the van belonged to Ramesh, a local artificial jewellery seller with a criminal record.

"Ramesh was brought in for questioning and initially, he denied any involvement. Technical analysis of Chandi Bai's call records revealed that the two were at the same location on the day of her disappearance," the officer said.

Police also found that Ramesh had a "history of criminal behaviour", including a rape case that landed him in judicial custody.

A breakthrough was made when police found Ramesh's digital footprints, which revealed that he had been searching about "Drishyam" and crime shows on Google. He also searched questions like --"How long does a body take to decompose" and "How police catch criminals through mobile tracking", ASP Kumar said.

The accused's wife also confirmed that he had a habit of watching crime shows, often late into the night

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