In a chilling cross-state conspiracy, a property dealer from Orai in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district has been arrested for allegedly hiring three contract killers to murder his own son (in his twenties), whose body was subsequently dumped in a forested area in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district, said Orai Kotwali station house officer (SHO) Anand Kumar Singh on Saturday.
Police in Bhind district, who led the investigation, confirmed that the three hired accomplices have also been taken into custody. After Rashid retrieved his son from the rehabilitation centre and handed him over to the trio, the group drove toward Uttar Pradesh. the men allegedly strangled Shanu with a rope inside the vehicle While traveling through the forests of Bhind. To conceal the crime and accelerate decomposition, the accused stuffed the body into a sack along with salt and detergent powder before abandoning it in a forested area under the jurisdiction of the Bhind Dehat Kotwali police station. The trio subsequently returned to Orai. Madhya Pradesh police successfully traced the car’s registration number using footage from nearby CCTV cameras. This evidence led police to the three contract killers, which ultimately exposed Rashid’s involvement. They were subsequently transported to Bhind Dehat Kotwali for further legal proceedings.
The case came to light on October 27, when local villagers discovered the sack and alerted the authorities. Police also recovered ₹ 1.5 lakh from the suspects, believed to be the initial half-payment of the ₹ 3 lakh sum agreed upon for the murder. A team from the Bhind Dehat police traveled to Orai on Friday night and, with the support of local police, arrested all four accused.
The SHO described the operation as a pre-planned conspiracy, stating that Rashid, a resident of Orai’s Shivpuri locality, had reportedly made several attempts to rehabilitate his son, Rais alias Shanu, at a centre in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior. However, despite repeated treatment efforts, the family continued to struggle with his behaviour, following which Rashid allegedly hired contract killers to murder him in Bhind district.
