Rehab centre caretaker held for inmate's killing

Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad police has arrested the caretaker of a rehabilitation centre and his son for allegedly beating to death an inmate when they failed to handle him as the victim was demanding liquor. The accused buried the body in the ground at their relative's farm trying to hide the crime and later dug out the body to dump in canal.

The victim, Bharat Bhooshan (32), a resident of Sadar Bazar in Delhi was forcibly admitted to the rehabilitation centre by his family for alcohol addiction on July 18. On July 23, when Bharat's father Premchand, went to meet his son, he found him missing for the last two days.

Premchand immediately called Saurabh Tyagi, the care taker of rehab centre and his son Mehul Tyagi but both their phones went not reachable. He himself tried to trace his son as he felt that he might have flee the rrehab centre, but when he couldn't find him, he lodged a missing compliant at Tila Mod police station.

Police launched an investigation into the matter and revealed that on July 21, Bhooshan was beaten mercilessly with sticks by Saurabh and his son Mehul. "During probe, a police team reached rehab centre and questioned the inmates who told police that an altercation broke out between Bhooshan and Saurabh following which the father-son duo thrashed him with sticks and he was badly injured," said Gyanendra Singh, superintendent of police-II, Ghaziabad.

The inmates also told police that Saurabh and his son took away Bhooshan in a critically injured condition in their car and didn't return back. Police started looking for the accused and arrested Saurabh on August 15 while his son Mehul was arrested next day, said police.

"During interrogation, the accused told police that Bhooshan was abusing them as he was not getting liquor since being admitted to the rehab centre. On the day of incident, Bhooshan had abused them and in the fit of rage, the father-son duo started beating him with sticks and one of the blow hit him in his head. The victim died on the spot and they took the body to Muzaffarnagar at Saurabh's brother-in-law, Kapil Tyagi's farm. They buried the body in the ground along with two wooden sticks used in the crime," the officer

added.

The accused also revealed that on July 27, they took out the body from the farm and had thrown it into the Ganga canal in Muzaffarnagar district. Police are yet to recover the body of the deceased but they found the weapon used in the crime.

Police have registered a case under IPC section 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) against the accused and they have been sent to judicial custody after producing before the court.