Burnt body in Sabarmati riverbed: Three held for murder, police say

The discovery of a charred body in the Sabarmati riverbed near Old Vanjar village late on Sunday night has led to the arrest of three persons, with the police stating that the victim was murdered with a sharp weapon before the body was set ablaze to destroy evidence.

According to the Sarkhej police, the incident came to light in the early hours of April 13 when a night patrol team noticed flames in a deserted stretch of the riverbed around 4.45 am. On reaching the spot, personnel found a human body burning. The fire was doused using water from the river, revealing a severely charred corpse that was initially unidentifiable.

A case of suspicious death was registered, and the body was sent to the Civil Hospital in Asarwa for post-mortem. The forensic examination later confirmed that the victim had died due to a perforating thoracic injury caused by a sharp-edged weapon, indicating homicide prior to the burning of the body.

Police said the assailants had attacked the victim with a knife and subsequently set the body on fire using a flammable substance and wood in an attempt to destroy evidence before fleeing.

Following the incident, teams from the Local Crime Branch (LCB) Zone-7 and Sarkhej police launched a coordinated investigation under the supervision of senior officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivam Verma.

During the probe, officers scanned CCTV footage from nearby petrol pumps and identified a suspect purchasing diesel shortly before the incident. Acting on technical inputs and human intelligence, police traced and apprehended three accused — Jitendra alias Jitu Chunara (35), Jagdish alias Kapil Thakor (24), and Deepak alias Bhagi Rawal (21) — from near the Sarkhej-Ujala bridge while they were allegedly attempting to flee the city.

The victim was later identified as Javed alias Marghi Iqbalbhai Sepoy, a resident of Sarkhej village.

Police said one of the accused identified Jitendra was also wanted in a prohibition-related offence registered in Matar police station. The trio has been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder and destruction of evidence.

"Investigation revealed that accused Jitendar suspected that Javed used to give information to police about this ware abouts due to which police used to raid his house. In an act of revenge and settle things the three took Javed to the secluded place near river bed stabbed him and burnt his body." said senior official