Newly elected Congress MLA from Himachal Pradesh, Ram Kumar Choudhary, surrendered before the Panchkula district court on Tuesday in connection with the Jyoti murder case.
Jyoti (24), a resident of Hoshiarpur district, was found dead in Panchkula on 22 November. During investigation her cell phone records revealed an alleged connection between Chowdhary and her murder. Police informed that on the night of the murder, the cell phone towers of both their phones showed the same location.
A day after his election as the new MLA from the Doon constituency of Solan District in HP, Choudhary and his three accomplices were named in an FIR on charges of murder. All four accused had been on the run since. Apart from Choudhary, the other accused in the case are two of his nephews — Paramjeet and Dharampal and his friend Gurmeet Singh. On Monday, the Haryana Police announced an award of Rs 2 lakh to anyone who would reveal their whereabouts. While Choudhary surrendered in court on Tuesday and was remanded to six days of police custody, his accomplices are still absconding.
On Saturday, the investigating officer, DSP Virendra Sangwan said, “We have been interrogating him but he has not revealed anything substantial yet. We have his remand till Monday but in such circumstances, it might need to be extended. However, it can be decided for sure only on Monday.” Meanwhile, Choudhary’s vehicle and some other belongings have been recovered.
Jyoti’s post mortem reports reveal that she had died of head injuries and had recently undergone an abortion as well. Her father, Buti Ram, has been alleging that Choudhary had close ties with the family and may be Jyoti’s murderer. He had earlier also told the police that he was offered Rs 50 lakh to settle the case. Choudhary was seen at Jyoti’s sister’s wedding in 2009. The recent cell phone records of the accused and the victim show increased contact between them.