    
Eeidlagolayenti
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Eeidlagolayenti
Post Number: 453
Registered: 03-2005
Posted From: 65.115.93.126
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - 4:37 pm: |    |
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?conten t_id=74723&headline=Dead~in~IMA,~jawan~now~in~Poli ce~custody
nijangaa tagala bettali ittantollani..
DEHRA DUN, JULY 19: In a bizarre case, a soldier who had been presumed dead at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on December 10, 2003, after the discovery of a burnt body, has been arrested by Bathinda Police. And the story now emerging is that of espionage — Suraj Singh Negi allegedly burnt another person to death to cover his own tracks.
Army intelligence and police officers here are alarmed, since the IMA has been a major target for terrorists.
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It was on a winter night that an Army patrol spotted flames at one of the barracks at the IMA. A charred body was found in the room occupied by Sepoy Negi.
Since Negi was not to be found, it was presumed by his father, Shankar Singh Negi, a retired Army Subedar, the Army authorities and the police, that he was the one who died.
So, the news of his arrest by the Bathinda police for allegedly being involved in espionage has made the authorities sit up.
Negi, 30, came to Bathinda on July 7 and took a room at the local Bhanamal Trust dharamshala in his own name. Next day, he began to inquire about families of Kargil victims, which prompted some people to inform the police.
When the police raided the dharamshala, Negi tried to scale the wall and escape but fractured his toes and was caught. He was remanded to four-day police custody and then to judicial custody.
Bathinda SSP Kapil Dev said Negi had not admitted to committing any murder at IMA though he was aware of the incident. The SSP said he probably wanted his family to continue getting the service benefits.
Negi’s father, who had come to Bathinda from Dehra Dun, has reportedly identified him.
Since his return two days ago, the family, living in Dehra Dun’s Vikas Nagar, has been in a state of shock. The news that he is alive has turned out to be a bigger blow to his parents, wife and three children, than his ‘death’ was.
The Army has now ordered an inquiry into the case.
Preliminary investigations reveal that a mentally challenged washerman, Kallu, was probably the one whom Negi allegedly burnt to death.
Kallu, who was friendly with Negi, has been missing since the body was discovered.
According to police sources, the inquiry has also revealed that a girlfriend of Negi, too, had been missing. |
