The body, dressed to look like that of Himmat Patidar, was actually his employee's.
Highlights
- Himmat Patidar's body found last week with multiple wounds, face burnt
- During investigation, police found out that his employee was missing
- DNA test revealed huge twist--the body was that of his employee
The murder of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist last week provoked massive anger in Madhya Pradesh. 36 year-old RSS man Himmat Patidar's body was found with multiple wounds and a face burnt beyond recognition. Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his BJP targeted the ruling Congress over recent killings.
Only, a DNA test has revealed a huge twist in the story.
Himmat Patidar turned out to be alive, and is suspected to be the killer. The body found near his field in Ratlam was that of his employee Madan Malviya, the police realized, and it was allegedly dressed up to look like Patidar.
The motive? The familiar insurance plot.
Deep in debt, Himmat Patidar allegedly had hoped to collect Rs 20 lakh as life insurance.
Home minister Bala Bachchan of the Congress took a swipe at the BJP and the RSS, its ideological mentor. "BJP is unable to digest the regime change in MP. Himmat Patidar (RSS worker) turned out to be the killer in Ratlam incident, whether its Ratlam or Mandsaur it's the BJP that's taking law in its hands," the minister said.
On January 23, it was Himmat's father who informed the police about his son's "death". A team arrived at the spot invillage Kamed along with forensic experts and sniffer dogs. Five teams were set up for a more thorough inquiry.
The police found Himmat's I-cards, Aadhar card, ATM card and a diary with details of his bank account, his loans and insurance. His shoes and a blood-stained belt were found near the body. His bike was also parked nearby.
While investigating, the police found out that Madan Malviya, an employee who worked on Himmat's farm, had been missing since January 22, the day before the murder.
When the police started looking for Malviya, they found mud-splattered clothes and shoes around 500 metres from the crime scene. These were identified by Malviya's family.
The police started suspecting something very odd when they realized the muddy shoeprints on Himmat's bike foot-rest matched with Malviya's shoes.
Himmat's call records revealed that his mobile was used till around 4.30 am on the day of the murder but everything had been deleted.
Subsequently, the police learnt that Himmat would always come to his field at night to switch on the water pump, but that night the pump wasn't on. It also stood out that the diary on the body conveniently had details that would benefit the family.
The post-mortem report revealed that the victim was strangled and hacked with a sharp instrument. His face was burnt so he couldn't be identified.
The police stumbled upon a breakthrough as Malviya's family recognized the underwear on the corpse.
Almost certain now that the body was Malviya's, the police had the hair and other samples tested for DNA.
When the results confirmed their suspicion, what remained was to establish a motive.
More inquiries revealed that Himmat had insured his life for Rs 20 lakh on December 17, 2018. The police also found out about his Rs 10 lakh debt, which led him to cook up an elaborate plan straight out of the movies.
Himmat is still missing; the police have offered Rs 10,000 for any information on him.