Main suspect in Kasba homemaker murder held

Murder for gain was the primary motif of accused Rahul Singh whom Kolkata Police sleuths on Friday arrested on the Howrah bridge while he was trying to flee West Bengal after murdering Anmol Jain in her Kasba flat.

A digital camera and two gold rings were found from a laptop bag being carried by Singh, a resident of the city’s Beckbagan area, when he was arrested, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.

The nylon cord used in the murder was also recovered inside the laptop bag, which he had stolen from Jain’s residence on Wednesday.

Two gold chains and the two mobile phones stolen by him were yet to be recovered, police said adding a wallet containing photos of two sons of the Jain couple was also recovered from Singh.

The accused admitted that he has spent the cash, Rs 3,500, stolen from Jain’s flat after the crime.

A youth in his early 20s, Singh, used to stay with his mother and elder brother and work at the victim’s husband Manoj Kumar Jain’s shop before he was sacked.

“He did not return home Wednesday night and Thursday and had put up at the red light area in the central part of the city,” he said.

Police detained Singh’s ally Vijay Kaneriwal alias Pappu whom the accused had called using the stolen mobiles, met him and told him about his crime.

Using call details and mobile phone’s tower location, the police spotted Pappu and detained him.

Sleuths then made Pappu call Singh promising him to lend him some money and help him flee the state.

“Singh went to Jain’s flat at around 10.30 am. She was smothered by a pillow and then strangled to death using the nylon cord,” the officer said.

Singh and Pappu were being questioned to find out if there were anything else behind the murder.

“Singh has stolen things and money after committing the crime. But why one almirah was left untouched is a mystery. We are still questioning them for this,” he said.