UP couple detained for murder of watchman in Rajkot: Police

Teams of Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Rajkot city police picked up the couple hours after the night watchman at a jute-bag godown was found dead.

A migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh and his wife were detained by police on Tuesday for allegedly murdering a night watchman at a jute-bag godown in Rajkot city. Police said that the worker strangled the watchman suspecting that he would watch the former’s wife while she would attend nature’s call.

Teams of Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Rajkot city police picked up Alimahmad Sayee and his wife Nankibegum, hours after night watchman Govind Chavda was found dead. The watchman’s body was found buried in a heap of bags filled with raw material for jute bags.

Police said that Sayee and his wife are natives of Sravasti district in UP and worked at Kailash Company, a jute-bag trading firm on Morbi Road of Rajkot, since February this year. Chavda worked as a night watchman at the same firm, police said.

“Sayee suspected that Chavda used to cast glances at Nankibegum while she would attend nature’s call. So, the worker strangled the night watchman with the help of a piece of string at around 1 am on May 25 and later, hid the latter’s body under a pile of bags with the help of his wife,” Jaydeepsinh Sarviya, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) of Rajkot, said on Wednesday.

The ACP said that to keep his crime under the wrap, Sayee also damaged a CCTV camera near the crime scene. “The accused targeted a CCTV camera installed at Raghuveer Farsan, a sweetmeat shop near Kailash Company, and damaged it at 11.06 pm on May 24. Around two hours later, he assaulted the 65-year-old nightwatchman,” he said.The ACP added that DCB and SOG teams managed to identify the accused based on the footage recorded by the camera before it was damaged.

‘B’ Division police station officers said that they had booked the couple for murder and were sending them for Covid-19 testing before formally arresting them.

“Opposite of the Kailash Company godown is an open plot which is used as a parking lot by transporters. Nankibegum used to relieve herself on this plot, behind parked trucks, at night…The couple never warned the night watchman before murdering him,” said Victor Fernandez, Police Inspector of ‘B’ Division police station. He added that the migrant workers have a seven-year-old son.

The ACP further said that they have contacted UP Police to find out if the couple have any criminal antecedents.