Daijiworld Media Network – Giridih

Giridih, Sep 9: The bodies of two women, missing since Thursday from Gawan police station limits in Giridih district, were recovered from the Golgo Pahari forest on Monday evening, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Police have arrested Shrikant Chaudhary of Kharsan village for the murder of Soni Devi (23) and Rinku Devi (31), both residents of Neemadhi village. Preliminary probe suggests that the victims were strangled to death. Their bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

According to police, Soni Devi, though married, was in a relationship with Chaudhary, which earlier led to a village panchayat declaring the affair “illegal” and imposing a fine of Rs 1.7 lakh on him. Despite this, the relationship continued. Soni’s family alleged that Chaudhary had recently threatened her, warning that he would kill her if she distanced herself.

Last Thursday, Soni went to collect leaves in the forest along with her neighbour Rinku, after which both went missing. Two days later, Soni’s mother filed a missing complaint, naming Chaudhary as a suspect. Based on call detail records, police detained him, and during interrogation, he confessed to the crime. His statement led investigators to the bodies in Golgo hill forest, four km from Neemadhi.

The gruesome incident triggered outrage in the area. Hundreds of villagers gathered outside Gawan police station on Tuesday, accusing the police of negligence and even alleging that bribes were sought to search for the missing women. The mob demanded the accused be handed over to them.

Police station in-charge Abhishek Singh said that Chaudhary is being further interrogated, while additional forces have been deployed at the station to prevent untoward incidents.