AHMEDABAD: A Rs 30,000 financial dispute allegedly led to the murder of a migrant worker in Gujarat's Surat city, where a man from Odisha is accused of killing his colleague, severing his head and dumping the headless torso in a Christian cemetery.
Police arrested the accused and recovered the victim's head from railway tracks nearly three kilometres away.
The Katargam police arrested Sachitra Kumar Narendra Bal, a native of Odisha residing in Surat, for allegedly murdering his 30-year-old colleague Sanjay and disposing of his remains at two separate locations.
The case came to light late on November 3, when police received information about a headless, unclothed torso lying inside a Christian cemetery in Katargam. A team of senior police officials, forensic experts and a dog squad rushed to the spot and recovered the remains from thick grass reportedly four to five feet high.
Investigations subsequently revealed that the victim's head had been dumped near railway tracks beneath the Alkapuri Bridge, nearly three kilometres from where the torso was found. Acting on information obtained during the accused's interrogation, police recovered the severed head from bushes and prepared a formal panchnama.
The remains were sent to SMIMER Hospital for post-mortem examination and further DNA analysis.
According to preliminary police investigations, Sanjay and Bal worked at a loom factory in Katargam GIDC and were originally from Odisha. Their relationship allegedly soured over a financial transaction involving Rs 30,000 that Sanjay reportedly owed Bal.
Police suspect that Bal, harbouring resentment over the unpaid amount, invited Sanjay to his residence on Sunday. He allegedly tied the victim's hands and attacked him with a heavy cleaver commonly used for cutting meat. He then allegedly severed Sanjay's head in an attempt to conceal his identity and destroy evidence.
The accused allegedly took the headless body to the cemetery, barely 150 metres from his residence, and threw it over the boundary wall while the security guard was asleep. Thick vegetation reportedly concealed the remains, delaying their discovery. He then allegedly disposed of the severed head beneath the Alkapuri railway bridge.
The case has brought the spotlight back on Surat's migrant workforce, particularly workers from Odisha employed in the city's textile and industrial units. While the alleged motive was a personal financial dispute, the brutal killing has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the crime and the accused's attempt to destroy evidence.
Police are interrogating Bal to establish the complete sequence of events, while forensic examination and DNA analysis are expected to strengthen the investigation.