IANS/Panchkula, Haryana
A court yesterday remanded Himachal Pradesh legislator Ram Kumar Chaudhary of the Congress party in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the murder of a former aide. He has been lodged in the Ambala jail, police said.
The court rejected a plea of the Panchkula police for his remand for two more days to interrogate him.
Police interrogated Chaudhary, a newly-elected legislator from Doon, on his role in the murder of Jyoti, his former employee.
The 24-year-old was found dead near Sector 21 of Panchkula town, 15km from Chandigarh, on November 22. Her head was smashed. She belonged to a poor, Dalit family in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, 150km from here.
Police officials investigating the case claimed that Chaudhary had relations with Jyoti and used to transfer money into her bank account. “She got pregnant and he forced her to get an abortion done. As she was becoming a liability, he conspired with others to eliminate her,” a police officer said.
The victim’s head was crushed under a truck so that she would not be recognised, the police claimed.
Police in Panchkula booked Chaudhary and three others - Paramjeet, Dharampal and Gurmeet Singh - for the woman’s murder. Police had tried to arrest Chaudhary by raiding various places in Himachal Pradesh since early December but he evaded arrest.
Following his arrest, Chaudhary has been unable to take oath as a legislator. He has sought permission from the court to take the oath.