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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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
