A month after the in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district over an alleged illegal sand-mining rivalry, police have arrested four men — including the alleged key conspirator.
Police said the accused allegedly trailed Ayush Kashyap – son of local Congress leader Samelan Kashyap of Karhi village — as he returned home on April 24. The assailants allegedly changed clothes to mask their identity, forced their way into the family home and locked Ayush’s parents in a room before shooting him dead. His 16-year-old brother was also shot but survived.
The gang had also broken nearby CCTV cameras before the attack.
Ayush’s father, Sammelan Kashyap, a local Congress leader, had alleged at the time that his son was killed over a business rivalry linked to illegal sand mining in the area. Police now say the investigation has confirmed that angle.
Janjgir-Champa Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar Pandey said: “I realised the murder had a sand-mining angle, as there have been murders linked to sand mining in the past. I was also aware of a gang active on social media that did assaults for money and began tracking them. Another clue was the 20-minute lag between the breaking of cameras and the murder, which made us suspect something was amiss.”
Police said another clue was that one of the accused, 23-year-old Bhushan Baghel, owed money to Ayush’s father. Bhushan was traced to in Gujarat, while two others — Hemant Baghel, 23, and alleged shooter Amit Tondon, 28 — were arrested from the village.
The fourth accused, Ganpat Baghel, was arrested Wednesday. Police said Ganpat had a business rivalry with Ayush and was unhappy with his entry into the sand-mining business.
The Indian Express had previously reported that while tenders have been awarded for sand mining, paperwork is still pending, which makes all sand quarrying activities in the area illegal.
