The body of murder victim Momita Das, a resident of Delhi, was identified by her brother and the last rites were performed by him on the banks of the Bhagirathi in the presence of the Uttarkashi district magistrate and the superintendent of police.
Momita and her partner Abhijeet Das had arrived in Chakrata in Dehradun district from Delhi last month and were murdered by a taxi driver and his accomplices who had dumped their bodies.
It will be recalled that the duo had arrived in Chakrata town on October 22 and had then booked a taxi on the next day for sightseeing. Momita had told her parents on phone that they had hired a driver called Raju. The couple was untraceable after October 23, causing their concerned parents to lodge a missing persons’ report with the Delhi police. A team from Delhi police reached Chakrata and later Raju was arrested and interrogated. He confessed to the double murder for money and named Bobby, Kundan and Guddu as his accomplices in the crime. They too were arrested by the police. Based on information provided by Raju the police found Abhijeet’s body in Naugaon area and it was cremated as an unidentified body on October 30.
On Thursday, the police recovered the body of a woman from the Yamuna river at Damta area. However, the identity could not be confirmed by one of Momita’s cousins. The next day her brother arrived and on Saturday morning identified the body as that of Momita. The body was cremated by her brother on Saturday. The police have, however, taken a sample for DNA test to confirm the identity of the body.
It may be recalled that the murder of the duo has sparked considerable outrage among the locals with many demanding the death penalty for the guilty.