Two arrested for murder of partially blind man in Rae Bareli

LUCKNOW: Two people were arrested on Sunday for the murder of their 24-year-old friend in Rae Bareli on Feb 21, police said.

The body of Ajay Kumar Saroj of Ratapur in Rae Bareli, was found in Sharda canal near Kucharia village on Friday evening. Police said that Ajay was partially blind while one of the accused, Ankush Yadav, was also blind.


Superintendent of police, Rae Bareli, Ravi Kumar said the crime was cracked based on CCTV footage and surveillance inputs after which the accused, Ankush Yadav of Murai Bagh in Dalmau and Gaurav alias Ajit of Matiha in Rae Bareli, were arrested. Both the accused are in their early 30s and were Ajay's friends.

According to police, Ajay allegedly informed Gaurav's father about his romantic relationship with a girl, which angered Gaurav.

Ankush, who was Ajay's close friend for nearly 15 years and was also blind, suspected that Ajay instigated his girlfriend against him. Agitated over this, Gaurav and Ankush decided to eliminate Ajay.

On Feb 21, the accused lured Ajay on the pretext of liquor. They took him to a secluded area near Kucharia village where they made him consume liquor and then assaulted him with an iron rod, leading to his death. They later dumped the body into a canal.

CCTV cameras captured Ajay, Gaurav and Ankush at a petrol pump near the crime scene which proved crucial in establishing the sequence of events.

After the murder, Ankush tried to evade arrest by travelling extensively across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan. However, he was arrested after his return to Rae Bareli. The accused were produced before a local court and sent to judicial custody.