In a chilling development in the sensational Raipur murder case, the Chhattisgarh Police on Tuesday night brought back the accused couple-Ankit Upadhyay and his wife Shivani Sharma-from Delhi, where they had been arrested at the airport.
The couple is accused of killing 45-year-old physically disabled Kishore Paikra and attempting to destroy evidence by concealing his body in a cement-filled steel trunk.
The police are expected to produce the accused in court today and seek their remand for further interrogation.
Investigators believe there could be more shocking revelations in the days ahead.
According to police, the motive behind the gruesome murder appears to be a dispute over property.
Kishore Paikra, the victim, had land registered in his name which was sold for Rs 50 lakh. The accused couple who were reportedly taking care of him were involved in the sale, but allegedly told Kishore that the land fetched only Rs 30 lakh. When Kishore learned of the discrepancy and demanded the remaining Rs 20 lakh, police believes that Ankit and Shivani conspired to murder him.
They reportedly killed him, placed the body in a steel trunk, filled it with cement, and dumped it in a deserted part of a colony in Raipur.
Raipur SSP Lal Ummed Singh confirmed that the couple had been arrested at Delhi airport. A team from Chhattisgarh Police had travelled to Delhi after tracking the suspects through CCTV footage and information from local vendors.
According to investigators, the couple was identified after police traced a trunk marked "Habbu Bhai" back to a shop in Chhattisgarh's Golbazar. The shopkeeper recalled selling the trunk to a young man and woman matching the couple's description. CCTV footage from the shop and surrounding areas further helped police zero in on the suspects.
The murder unravelled after locals in the colony noticed suspicious activity. On June 16, the couple had visited the colony to scout for rental property. A day later, Ankit reportedly rented a third-floor flat. On June 23, CCTV cameras captured the couple carrying a heavy trunk to a deserted spot nearby. A resident even alerted police after seeing Ankit moving the suspicious trunk from the lift.
When the police later recovered the trunk with Kishore's body encased in cement, the connection to the missing man became clear.
