Blood-stained hammer, bound hands: Bodies of Haryana man, woman fished out of canal

Two people reported missing near Faridabad's Agra canal were found dead with their hands tied. Police are examining injuries, a recovered hammer and electronic evidence to establish murder or drowning.

In Short

• Police recovered Rashmi's abandoned car near BPTP bridge after the alert
• A blood-stained hammer and two mobile phones were seized from inside
• Shivam Kumar had earlier accused Akash of repeatedly harassing Rashmi

The bodies of a 23-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, who had been missing since Saturday evening after police received information that they had jumped into a canal in Faridabad, were found on Sunday with their hands tied with data cables and injuries on their faces, officials said.

Police said they are investigating whether the two died by drowning or from hammer blows, and added that the exact cause of death and sequence of events will be established through the post-mortem report and forensic analysis.

The deceased were identified as Akash alias Akku and Rashmi alias Rajni. Their bodies were fished out of the Agra canal near Shahpur Kalan on Sunday evening and sent for post-mortem. The case was first registered on Saturday by BPTP Police under Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on the complaint of Shivam Kumar, a resident of Sector 31.

In his complaint, Shivam alleged that Akash, who used to visit a gym in Sector 31, had been harassing his wife Rashmi. The complaint said Akash had apologised after being confronted earlier, but had started harassing her again over the last 10 days.

According to police, Rashmi left home in her car to meet Akash at around 2 pm on Saturday. At about 4.30 pm, police received information that a young man and a woman had jumped into the Agra Canal near the BPTP bridge.

When police reached the spot, they found Rashmi's car abandoned there. Police said a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of two mobile phones and a blood-stained hammer, which were seized.

Since Saturday evening, the State Disaster Response Force and other agencies had been searching for the two people, police said. They added that the scope of the investigation has widened after both bodies were recovered.

Meanwhile, Akash's brother-in-law Ajay Nagar alleged that it was a murder. He claimed that Akash was called there as part of a conspiracy and was then killed along with the woman.

"Police are working to determine whether the woman died from a hammer blow or by drowning in the canal. A thorough investigation is underway as both individuals were found with their hands bound by data cables," a senior police officer said.

He added that police are piecing together the sequence of events on the basis of the post-mortem report, forensic evidence, mobile phones and other electronic evidence. "The picture will be clear soon," the officer said.

Police are now examining the post-mortem findings, forensic material, seized phones and other electronic evidence to establish how Akash and Rashmi died after they were reported missing near the canal on Saturday.

- Ends