Police in Raipur have apprehended five individuals linked to the savage killing of a 29-year-old man who was brutally attacked and buried alive in a mining pit near Abhanpur recently. The victim, a Pakistani national residing in Raipur awaiting citizenship, tragically passed away five days later due to suffocation from soil entering his mouth and windpipe. One suspect remains at large, as per an investigating officer.
The deceased, identified as Nitesh Batra from Sadani Darbar in Raipur, was not an Indian citizen and was employed in the city. The main suspect, Shyam Sundar Soni, who runs a vegetable shop, was allegedly romantically involved with a woman. On the night of March 16, an altercation ensued between Nitesh and Shyam at the latter’s residence, leading to a violent confrontation. Shyam and two employees assaulted Nitesh severely with a wooden stick, resulting in head injuries.
In a disturbing turn of events, the victim, likely in a semi-conscious state, was transported around 40 km in an auto-rickshaw to a secluded murum mining pit between Parsulidih and Filgabhatta village, where he was further assaulted, strangled with a gamcha, and ultimately buried alive by the perpetrators, according to the police. The body was found on March 21 in a gravel-filled roadside ditch near Bharavgabhata, with a hand and leg visible above ground.
Authorities in Abhanpur have taken legal action, detaining five suspects from Uttar Pradesh, including Shyam Sundar Soni, Sonia Sahu, Sumit Kosle, and two minors, while one more individual remains at large. An auto-rickshaw, wooden sticks, and other items have been confiscated by the police. The incident has sparked outrage in Raipur, prompting calls for enhanced highway patrols and improved coordination between police stations to prevent such atrocities.
