Wedding gift explosion case: Ex-lover of newly married woman held for planting bomb
Raipur (PTI): Chhattisgarh Police have solved the case of a home theatre music system explosion in Kabirdham district and arrested former lover of a newly married woman for allegedly planting a bomb in the electronic device with an intention to kill the couple, an official said on Wednesday.
The woman's husband Hemendra Merawi (30) and his brother Rajkumar (32) were killed following the explosion in the music system, gifted by accused Sarju Markam (33), a married man from Chhapla village in Balaghat district of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, they said.
Markam was arrested from Balaghat on Tuesday after his involvement in the crime surfaced during the investigation, Kabirdham Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh told PTI.
"The accused told the police that he had planted the explosive in the home theatre and gifted it to the newly married couple in a bid to kill them," he said.
Merawi, a resident of Chamari village under Rengakhar police station limits, got married to a 29-year-old woman from nearby Anjana village on March 31 and the wedding reception was held in his house on April 1, he said.
On Monday, when Merawi was trying to switch on the home theatre received as the wedding gift, it exploded. Merawi died on the spot and five others including his elder brother suffered injuries, the official said.
His brother later succumbed during treatment at the district hospital, he added.
The forensic team spotted traces of gunpowder during investigation of the spot following which family members of the bride and groom were questioned, he said.
The questioning and call details revealed that Merawi's wife was in constant touch with Markam. The duo had an affair and Markam was unhappy since the woman stopped talking to him after her marriage got fixed with Merawi, the official said.
Merawi's call details also revealed that he spoke to Markam on March 30, the day when the former's wedding rituals began, he said.
Based on the investigation, police reached a shop in Mandai area of Balaghat from where the music system, which had Sony brand name printed on it, was purchased and questioned the shop owner who confirmed that Markam had bought it, he said.
The police subsequently zeroed-in on Markam, who worked as an auto mechanic in Birsa (Balaghat), and arrested him, the official said.
Markam told the police that he "committed the crime and revealed that he used ammonium nitrate, petrol and gunpowder retrieved from firecrackers, weighing about 2 kg, to make the bomb and fitted it inside the home theatre."
He used the device power supply as a mechanism to trigger the blast, the police official said.
Markam came on a motorcycle to Chamari on April 1, the reception day, and placed the wrapped music system along with other gifts and went from there, he said.
Singh said Markam had worked in a stone crusher plant in 2015-16 in Indore and learnt from there how to make bombs using ammonium nitrate.
The accused had collected ammonium nitrate from the same crusher plant and kept it with him, the official said.
After the woman refused to break up her marriage and stopped talking to Markam, he hatched a conspiracy to kill the couple, he added.
So far, the role of any other person has not been surfaced in the offence, the SP said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The accused has been booked under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Explosives Substances Act, he added.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
