Kolkata: A week after the brutal murder of Krishnanagar college student Ishita Mallick in Nadia district, police arrested the prime accused, Deshraj Singh, early Monday morning in Uttar Pradesh while he was allegedly attempting to cross into Nepal in a vehicle.
Singh was brought to Krishnanagar on Monday and produced before the local court, which remanded him to judicial custody
“Deshraj was arrested while he was travelling by car near the India–Nepal border. He seems to have been trying to cross into Nepal,” a senior officer of Krishnanagar Police District is learnt to have said.
“Earlier, we obtained information about him from his arrested uncle. Despite being in deep shock after the incident, the student’s family cooperated with us and provided various details. After examining those, we got a lead and our team swung into action,” he said.
Meanwhile, police had sought permission for a Test Identification (TI) parade, which was granted. Krishnanagar Police District Superintendent of Police (SP) Amarnath K said the TI parade will be conducted within a few days, after which Deshraj will be taken into custody for interrogation.
On August 25, teenager Ishita Mallick was shot twice in the head at point-blank range by Deshraj while she was at her home in Manikpara. She was rushed to Shaktinagar Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Investigations revealed that Ishita had been in a relationship with Deshraj for the past few years but had recently refused to continue it.
Following the murder, the accused went on the run, evading investigators for days with the active support of his family, two gangster brothers-in-law, and influential circles in Uttar Pradesh. During the probe, police arrested Deshraj’s maternal uncle, Kuldeep Singh, from Jamnagar, as the accused had been in contact with him. Police also learned that Deshraj’s father was assisting him in fleeing and crossing over to Nepal. However, Deshraj was apprehended before he could escape.
Speaking to Millennium Post, the Superintendent of Police said that Deshraj’s father, a BSF officer, has been detained at his place of posting in Jaisalmer. A warrant has been issued against him in connection with the student murder case and he will be arrested soon.