Jaipur: City police Monday arrested a man and his associate for allegedly murdering his uncle over an old grudge, solving the case within 24 hours of recovering the body.The accused were identified as Vikas Kumar, 19, and Nitish Kumar, 21, both natives of Bihar who were staying in Naroga Colony under Jaisinghpura Khor police station limits.DCP (North) Karan Sharma said police found a decomposed body with its face smashed beyond recognition lying on a roadside under the Jaisinghpura Khor police station area on Sunday. Based on the condition of the body, investigators suspected the murder took place about three days earlier. Police alleged the accused deliberately disfigured the victim’s face to prevent identification.With no immediate clue to the victim’s identity, police launched an extensive investigation. A special team led by additional DCP Neeraj Pathak, ACP Surendra Singh Ranawat and SHO Mukesh Kumar was formed. The team examined footage from nearly 750 CCTV cameras, checked missing person reports across Jaipur and neighbouring police station areas, conducted door-to-door enquiries and relied on local intelligence to reconstruct the victim’s last movements.The breakthrough came when Surendra, a native of Bihar, approached investigators, saying his brother-in-law, Jai Prakash Kumar, had been missing for four to five days. His family later identified the body from the victim’s clothes and other physical features.Once the victim’s identity was confirmed, suspicion fell on his nephew, Nitish Kumar, and his associate, Vikas Kumar, who were last seen with Jai Prakash in the locality Thursday.Police said the duo initially tried to mislead investigators. They joined efforts to identify the deceased, gave contradictory statements about his identity and residence, and posed as people assisting the investigation. Intelligence inputs later indicated they were planning to flee to Bihar.Using technical evidence, CCTV footage and local intelligence, police detained both men. During interrogation, they allegedly confessed to the murder.According to police, Vikas worked with Jai Prakash in Jaipur about a year ago. During that time, Jai Prakash allegedly withheld his wages, spent the money on alcohol, assaulted him and forced him to drink. Unable to endure the abuse, Vikas returned to his village before later coming back to Jaipur, where he rented a separate room with Nitish.Police said Jai Prakash also had an ongoing dispute with his nephew. The two allegedly conspired to kill him and attacked him with stones on the night of June 25 before further mutilating his face to delay identification.Investigators recovered the stone allegedly used in the murder, along with other incriminating evidence.
