A man accused of murdering his lover and dumping her body near Chhawani railway station was arrested after a police encounter in Gorakhpur on Saturday morning. The accused, identified as Rajdhari Yadav, a native of Champaran, Bihar, sustained a bullet injury in his leg during an exchange of fire with the police and was later taken into custody.
Police received information that the accused was planning to flee to Bihar. A checking drive was launched on routes leading towards the state border. During the operation, a suspicious youth was spotted near the Kusmhi forest area in the early hours of Saturday. When police tried to stop him, he opened fire and attempted to escape, but police retaliated, injuring him in the leg before arresting him.
Police recovered a knife, a country-made pistol, live cartridges, and the mangalsutra of the deceased woman from his possession. Police said Yadav, a mason, worked in a papad factory in Humayunpur and was in a relationship with a married woman from Maharajganj district. However, frequent disputes reportedly arose over the woman being in contact with another person.
Police said the accused had taken the woman with him to Bihar a few days ago. On their return, he stabbed her to death on the night of May 5 on a kutcha road connecting Chhawani railway station to Kuraghat and dumped the body in nearby bushes before fleeing. SP City Nimish Patil said the accused fired at the police team while trying to escape, prompting retaliatory action in which he was injured and arrested. Further interrogation is underway.
The body was found near the railway tracks, and after three days, the deceased woman was identified as Barfi, a resident of Amahwa village in Nichlaul area of Maharajganj. Her brother, Bhulai Chauhan, identified the body on May 8 based on photographs and clothes. He told police that Barfi was married in Rampur Sinduria area, and her husband worked as a labourer in Hyderabad. She had left her in-laws’ house on May 4 to visit her parental home but never returned, following which the family began searching for her.
