Man held from Raj for killing co-worker in Mandsaur

Indore: A day after a man was found murdered near a temple in Kaithuli village of Mandsaur, police arrested the accused, Kuldeep Singh Rajput, from a forested area in Rajasthan on Wednesday.

Mandsaur SP Abhishek Anand said that 46-year-old Rajput, a resident of Jhalawar in Rajasthan, was arrested with the weapons used in the crime, including a wooden stick, stone, and the blood-stained clothes.

On July 15, body of a man was found in a bloodied state inside a roadside shelter near Bheru Bawji temple on Bhawanpura Road at Kaithuli village. Upon receiving the alert, inspector Rameshchand Dangi, along with his team, reached the scene and identified the deceased as Keshrilal Mali, a resident of Kaithuli. An FIR was lodged in the case and investigation started.

SDOP Vijay Yadav visited the scene and forensic experts, including a fingerprint team and dog squad, were deployed for collecting crucial physical evidence. During the investigation, police zeroed in on the primary suspect, Rajput a co-worker of Mali. A search was conducted in areas like liquor shops, nearby fields, and forest regions. Eventually, the accused was apprehended from a jungle in Rajasthan.

During questioning, Rajput confessed to the murder and revealed that he and Mali worked together for the past week painting a Jain temple in Kaithuli. They would cook and sleep at a nearby shelter behind the temple. On the night of the incident, both consumed alcohol and an argument escalated into a physical fight.

Enraged by verbal abuse and threats, Rajput assaulted Mali with a wooden stick, stone, and stone slab, leading to his death. Blood stains found on Rajput's shirt, pants, and slippers corroborated his confession, the SDOP said.