Neeraj Pandey, Bhopal4 minutes ago
Today in Madhya Pradesh Crime Files, the story of a murder, behind which a cunning conspiracy was hatched that surprised everyone. The accused made such a well-planned scheme that no one got a hint of it for months.
The family kept thinking that their son was living with his wife, so no one suspected him at all. Then one day, a school teacher made a revelation that shook the entire family. After this, layers unfolded one by one, which further complicated the police investigation. Read the full story
July 10, 2023. Ashoknagar. It was afternoon. Work was going on as usual in a large private school in the city. Then a woman arrived to collect her son’s transfer certificate. She told the school management that she was now going to live elsewhere, so she needed the child’s TC.
During the conversation, she said one more thing – “My husband has passed away.” A teacher present there also heard this. At first, she thought the family must be in shock, but the very next moment a question arose in her mind.
The family of the person whose death the woman was talking about lived in the same neighborhood as her. No one there had any such information. As soon as school was dismissed, the teacher went straight to that family’s house.
She casually asked, “Your daughter-in-law was saying at school that Saurabh has died… what happened?” Hearing this, the entire family was stunned.
Family thought, son is living with his wife
35-year-old Saurabh Jain had not come home for several months. But the family kept thinking that he was living outside with his wife Richa. Both had started living separately before, and Saurabh rarely talked to the family. So no one suspected much.
How did he die? A new answer every time
The family asked how Saurabh died? Richa initially said that he died in a road accident. According to her, Saurabh and his adopted brother Deepesh were going to Rajpur when the bike crashed. Saurabh died on the spot and was also cremated.
When Deepesh was asked the same question, he told a completely different story. He said that Saurabh died of a heart attack. The same incident and two different reasons. It was from here that the family became convinced that Deepesh and Richa were hiding something.
Suspicion grew when they reached the cremation ground
To find out the truth, the family went to both cremation grounds in the city. They searched the cremation registers, but found no entry for Saurabh Jain anywhere. There was no record of any cremation nor any medical document. Now suspicion had almost turned into certainty.
Cracks in relationships revealed during investigation
Police investigation revealed that Saurabh and Richa got married in 2013. They also had a son. Everything went normally for about nine years, but in 2022, disputes between the husband and wife escalated. Richa had gone to her maternal home for some time. Later, they started living together again, but left the joint family and started living in Ganjbasoda.
Family members said that Saurabh did not talk to them like before. Often, his wife handled the phone. Gradually, contact became so minimal that even when he didn’t come home for months, no one asked too many questions. Due to this distance, the family remained unaware of the truth for four months.
Interrogation began… and the story changed every time
Police took Richa and Deepesh into custody and started interrogation. Initially, both admitted to the murder, but as soon as the police asked where the body was, the story changed. They stated that Saurabh was murdered with a sharp weapon in a house in Balaji Dham Colony. Then the body was burned on the roof to dispose of it.
Second story… body was dismembered
As soon as the first story weakened, both made a new claim. This time they said that the body was dismembered. Then each part was burned on a tin sheet, so that no evidence would remain. The police searched the entire roof, but neither the tin sheet nor any burn marks that would confirm this story were found.
However, during the investigation, the police did reach the shop where the accused claimed to have bought the sharp weapon used in the murder. The shopkeeper also identified both of them.
Third, Fourth… and then a new story
As the interrogation progressed, the statement changed again. First, it was said that the body was burnt and its ashes were thrown into the river. The police reached there, but found nothing. After this, it was claimed that the body was thrown into the Tulsi Sarovar pond. When nothing was found there either, the story changed again and it was said that the body was thrown into the river.
Son gave the most important clue
During this time, the police spoke to Saurabh and Richa’s son. What the child revealed gave a new turn to the investigation. He said that his uncle Deepesh took him to a funeral and told him that this was his father, who had died in an accident.
However, the child also didn’t know the full truth. Still, the funeral he was taken to could provide a clue to the police.
Now several questions were
Why was the family not informed of the death for four months? If it was an accident, why was there no record of it? If it was a murder, where did the body go? If it was a murder, why was there a need to tell four different stories?
Read the answers to these questions tomorrow in ‘Madhya Pradesh Crime Files’ Part-2…
