The three accused Pawan Saroj, Shashi Patel and Rajneesh Patel are now free as none of their DNA matched the samples collected at the crime scene
Published on Feb 04, 2022 11:53 PM IST
Police have cleared the three accused arrested in connection with the murder of four members of a dalit family in Phaphamau in which a female member of the family was also raped in November 2021.
Senior officials said that the DNA of the accused did not match with the vaginal swab preserved from the crime scene. The case is now at a dead end with all 32 suspects cleared and is being reinvestigated by the SIT.
The three accused Pawan Saroj, Shashi Patel and Rajneesh Patel are now free as none of their DNA matched the samples collected at the crime scene. Police had earlier claimed that the arrests were made based on circumstantial evidence against the accused.
With their release, the working of the police is being questioned as arrests were made without any strong evidence against the three. Interestingly, the trio had always denied the charges against them.
On the instructions of the high court, a special investigation team was constituted to solve the case. Police had carried out DNA tests of 32 suspects including some brick kiln labourers but remained clueless about the miscreants who committed the brutal murders of the four members of the dalit family and the rape of the woman.
SSP Ajay Kumar said the incident is now a blind case. Six more members have been included in the SIT and the investigation is being monitored closely. Efforts are underway to crack the murders soon, he added.
Bodies of a middle-aged couple, their 25-year-old daughter and 10-year-old differently able son were found at their house in Phaphamau area on November 24. Their kin lodged an FIR against 11 persons of a Thakur family following which they were arrested. However, police later arrested a 23-year-old labourer, Pawan Saroj, and claimed that he raped and murdered the young woman for spurning his advances.
However, the kin of the victims had raised doubts on the police theory and demanded fair investigation into the case. A few days later, the police arrested two youths, Shashi Patel and his cousin Rajneesh Patel, of neighbouring villages. Police said that Shashi was in an affair with the woman and was in contact with her through chat. Despite being pressured for marriage by the woman, Shashi was reluctant to marry her as she was of a different caste. Shashi came from Gurgaon on November 21 and killed the woman and her kin after raping her.