Dehradun, February 17 A man in Dehradun was allegedly killed by his friends using a baseball bat, and their bodies were later buried in the Chidiyapur forest in Haridwar, police said on Tuesday.
The police said the incident came to light when a team, while searching for the missing man, Dingbar Dhiman (28), tracked down a taxi driver in whose vehicle the accused had taken the body for disposal.
Based on the taxi driver's information, Dhiman's body was recovered from the Chidiyapur forest. The driver, Rajanandan Thakur, was arrested for his involvement in hiding the body, they said.
According to reports, Dhiman, accused of allegedly raping a minor, had gone to court with his father on February 9 for the hearing of the case against him. After receiving the next date from the court, he told his father to go home and said he would return later. However, he never returned home.
Dhiman's father filed a missing person report on February 11, and a search was launched. During the investigation, it was discovered that Dhiman's friends, who often consumed drugs with him, had also been missing from their homes since his disappearance.
The police said that based on suspicion, police teams activated an informant network to gather information about Dhiman and his missing companions.
They also questioned their families and nearby residents and learned that one of the missing companions, Hemant Semwal, had left his room in Racecourse C-Block on the night of February 9 in a taxi.
After obtaining information about the taxi through CCTV cameras, its driver, Rajanandan Thakur, a resident of New Patel Nagar, was detained and interrogated, they said.
Thakur revealed that Semwal and his companions had taken a man's body wrapped in a blanket in his taxi and buried it in the Chidiyapur forest.
Thakur also said that on the way, the accused told him that they had gotten into an argument with Dhiman while they were drinking and that they had accidentally hit him on the head with a baseball bat, resulting in his death, the police said.
Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar said, "Separate teams have been formed and sent to possible locations to search for the accused involved in the incident. All the accused will be arrested soon."