Kota: In a significant ruling Wednesday, the SC/ST court in Jhalawar found four people guilty, including a suspended Rajasthan Police officer, for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Chetan Prakash Galav in 2018.Chetan Prakash Galav, 32, a senior technical officer with IB from Jhalawar city, was found dead beneath a railway pullia in Ralayta, Jhalawar on Feb 14, 2018. Based in New Delhi, Galav used to visit his family in Jhalawar every month.Following Galav’s father’s suspicions, the court ordered a murder investigation. Four months of police work uncovered a plot involving his wife Anita Meena and her former school sweetheart, Praveen Rathore, then serving as a Rajasthan police constable. They enlisted RTO agent Sharukh Khan for Rs 3 lakh to carry out the killing alongside Santosh Nirmal, Farahan, and a minor. According to public prosecutor Dipesh Bhardwaj’s Thursday statement, the SC/ST court sentenced Rathore and Khan to life imprisonment with Rs one lakh fine each for conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder under IPC and SC/ST Act provisions.Anita Meena and Santosh Nirmal received 14-year sentences for conspiracy and murder, while Farahan was cleared due to insufficient evidence. The minor’s case continues in Juvenile Justice Court. The four convicted persons were imprisoned Wednesday after their bail ended.Investigations revealed that Sharukh, apprehended four months after the crime, allegedly kidnapped Galav from Jhalawar railway station with two neighbours and administered a fatal Ketamine overdose, provided by Santosh Nirmal.The arrest of Anita Meena, 35, currently teaching in Asnawar, revealed startling details. Police learned this was the fifth attempt by Rathore and Meena to kill Galav, stemming from their school-time relationship. After securing govt positions in 2008, both married different partners—Anita was married to Chetan Prakash Galav, and Rathore to another govt school teacher.Anita and Rathore’s wife coincidentally became colleagues at an Asnawar school in 2014. This led to Anita reconnecting with Rathore, who began visiting her home during Galav’s absence. Opposition from Galav and his father to this relationship ultimately resulted in Galav’s murder in February 2018.
