Chamba murder case: Jairam Thakur seeks  NIA probe

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur today demanded an NIA probe into the murder of a man blaming a few youths of a minority community for the act.

Addressing a press conference in Shimla today he said that a case of gorry crime came fore in Chamba district on June 6, 2023, a victim identified as Manohar belonged to a Dalit family went missing from home.  

A few days later, his dead body was recovered in a drain covered by the sack. He said that this crime is rare in the peaceful state of Himachal Pradesh.

He said that police should expedite the probe into crime as Social harmony was being disturbed in society.

 Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur blamed a man belonging to the minority community Musafir Mohammad, his wife Farida, and six others.

BJP and right-wing organizations are of the view that  Manohar has been murdered by a cutter who cuts wood.

  An attempt was also made to burn the dead body, but due to fear of the neighboring alleged gangs, the dead body was put in a sack in a deserted place.  

However local police didn’t endorse the BJP accusation but the former chief minister claimed that there are eyewitnesses who found  Manohar’s shoe in the river and after that, the dead body was recovered.

BJP leader informed that the alleged accused is economically well off and exchange 97 lakh banned notes of 2000 in a bank. The former Chief minister also claimed that the accused had a deposit of two crores in his bank account.

Party also accused the minority suspect of encroaching on 100 big lands that did not like to trespass on the occupied land.

The party did not deny that the accused belonged to the Shephard family who resides at an altitude of 10,000 feet along with livestock of 100 goats but sells 200 goats.

Mr. Thakur went on to state that Musafir Mohammad was involved in the 1998 Chamba village massacre when terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir entered Himachal Pradesh and killed 35 people, they took 7 people alive to Jammu and Kashmir who have not been found to date.  

Accusition couldn’t be supported by the former chief minister about what this person was doing when BJP ruled in the state however now the party demanded to arrest of him claiming that he may temper evidence.

Mr. Thakur said that the state government has formed an SIT regarding this whole matter, but he demanded an investigation by the central agency NIA.