Man gets death for killing bhajan singer, family in '19

SHAMLI: A 28-year-old man, Himanshu Saini, was sentenced to death on Wednesday for the brutal murder of renowned bhajan singer Ajay Pathak (42), his wife Snehalata (38), their daughter Vasundhara (16) and son Bhagwat (10) in 2019 in Shamli, said DGC Sanjay Chauhan. He added that district judge Anil Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict. The court found Saini guilty of the crime on May 17.

Saini, a disciple of Pathak, stayed in their house in Punjabi Colony area of Adarsh Mandi. Police found Saini had a dispute with Pathak over a sum of Rs 60,000, which escalated into the crime.

The incident took place on the night of Dec 30, 2019. Ajay, Snehalata, and Vasundhara were found murdered in their home, while Bhagwat was missing. The next day, neighbours alerted police who started investigating the matter. CCTV footage captured Saini leaving the singer's home in the middle of the night on Dec 31. He allegedly placed the son's body in the trunk of Pathak's car and set it afire at Panipat toll plaza. He was arrested by Haryana police on Jan 1 around 2am.His attempt to loot the house failed, and he could only move Bhagwat's body as it was lighter than that of the other victims.

Investigating officer Karmvir Singh said, "Proving the charred body's identity was challenging. However, forensic analysis, including DNA samples from Bhagwat's body, blood stains on the victims' clothing, and a DNA sample from the singer's brother, confirmed the identity."

"Hair found stuck in the victims' hands matched Saini's DNA," the officer added.


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