In the double murder case, the police are interrogating the minor who was caught. Before this, the murderer boyfriend had already surrendered.

News Investigation / Vilok Pathak

The NI / Civil Lines Millennium Colony Double Murder Case

In Civil Lines Millennium Colony, the killer couple accused of murdering a father and brother was identified by the public near the district hospital in Haridwar. However, before the Haridwar police could reach the spot, the accused Mukul fled, and the police took the minor girl into custody. For nearly two and a half months, they evaded the police. Just as the police brought the minor to Jabalpur to start questioning about Mukul, Mukul himself arrived in Jabalpur and surrendered at the Civil Lines police station on the night of May 30, confessing to his crime.

After the incident, the couple received about one lakh rupees online from the deceased’s account and traveled from Jabalpur to various cities like Katni, Indore, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Shillong (Meghalaya), Jhansi, Agra, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Haridwar, continuously evading the police. They even tried to go to Nepal but failed due to a lack of documents. They survived by traveling mostly on railway platforms, bus stands, and buses and trains. When they ran out of money, they ate at community kitchens in gurudwaras and temples.

To locate the couple, Jabalpur police broadcasted information nationwide about the incident and distributed pamphlets of the accused Mukul on buses and trains. The double murder case was also widely broadcasted on social media. Several times, the police received information about the couple’s whereabouts, but they always managed to change locations before the police arrived. Wanted posters of the accused were also put up across the country and in Nepal, which helped the public identify and assist the police.

The double murder case became widely known across the country, and on May 27, 2024, Haridwar police stopped the couple at the district hospital on suspicion. During the interrogation, Mukul cleverly escaped under the pretext of fetching something, and the minor girl was detained. On May 28, 2024, the Haridwar police informed Jabalpur police about the incident, and a police team from Jabalpur promptly reached Haridwar, took custody of the minor girl, and brought her to Jabalpur.

During questioning, the minor girl revealed that she had previously filed a report against Mukul because her father refused to compromise, rejected Mukul’s marriage proposal, and sent Mukul to jail. Consequently, Mukul murdered her father, Rajkumar, and killed her 8-year-old brother because he raised an alarm. Continuous questioning of the minor girl is ongoing due to strong suspicions of her involvement in the conspiracy.

Upon learning that Jabalpur police were bringing the minor girl from Haridwar, Mukul surrendered at the Civil Lines police station, confessing to the double murder.

Learned Crime from Crime Series

Mukul planned the murder by watching crime series. On the night of March 14, Mukul entered the girl’s house and first attacked her father. When her father made noise, the girl’s younger brother woke up and tried to shout, leading to his murder as well. Initially, they planned to use a gas cutter to dispose of the bodies, but they got scared seeing the excessive blood and wrapped the bodies in polythene. To save the minor girl from suspicion, Mukul instructed her to send a voice message to her cousin. However, as their initial plan failed, they fled.

Accused Traveled Across the Country

In police interrogation, Mukul revealed that after escaping, he stayed one night at a friend’s place in Bengaluru, but his friend drove him out upon learning about the murder accusation. The couple traveled to various cities like Katni, Indore, Pune, Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Jhansi, Chandigarh, and Mathura without tickets to avoid getting caught. After the police seized the minor girl’s father’s bank account, they faced a financial crunch and chose Haridwar as their hideout. They ate at community kitchens and packed food from there, spending their time at Har Ki Pauri.

On May 28, they went to a public toilet to freshen up, where a vigilant member of the city defense committee helped the police catch the minor girl. Two days later, Mukul surrendered in Jabalpur.

Changing Locations to Evade Police

The cunning couple continuously changed their locations to evade the police. Their whereabouts and CCTV footage were frequently received by the police. On the morning of March 19, at 8:30 am, they were seen at Kalaburagi bus stand in Karnataka, holding a blue suitcase and a black bag. On April 10, they were spotted on CCTV near an ATM and at the gate of Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, about 1500 kilometers away from Kalaburagi. The next day, they were caught on CCTV at ISBT in Chandigarh, with their belongings increasing to about four bags. Despite these sightings, they managed to escape before the police could reach them.

After the incident, Jabalpur Superintendent of Police, Aditya Pratap Singh, thoroughly inspected the crime scene and issued necessary directives to the officers present for the prompt arrest of the accused. In compliance with these orders, teams were formed under the guidance of Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Sonakshi Saxena, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Samar Verma, and City Superintendent of Police (Omti) Pankaj Mishra. The Crime Branch and police station teams were assigned to the case and achieved this success. The vigilant citizens of Haridwar and the local police also contributed to this success, along with the involvement of the Cyber Cell team.

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