After the police failed to crack the mystery shrouding the murder of RTI activist Gajpal Singh (65) in six months, the case was transferred to CBCID. However, the investigating agency has not yet started the investigation.
Notably, Pauri Police had failed to solve the murder mystery after the case had been transferred to regular police from revenue police in September last by the district magistrate on the request and subsequent agitation of the local residents. Pauri Superintendent of Police Ajai Joshi told The Pioneer that Gajpal Singh murder case has been transferred to CBCID from the police.
The missing report of Gajpal Singh from village Kandola in Pauri Tehsil was lodged with Revenue Police on August 4, 2014 and his body was recovered by Revenue Police team on August 8 last from Pandali forest.
Alam Singh, son of the deceased, alleged that despite the suspect of the murder being named to the Revenue Police, the revenue sub- inspector (Pattwari) had not taken the suspect into custody for further inquiry and, citing it, he demanded the case be transferred to regular police.
However, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pl Shah had said that no report had been lodged by the family members against any one regarding the murder. Only the missing report had been lodged by them. He further had claimed that on the basis of the report, the search team had been constituted and the Revenue Police had found the body.
Shah had said a suo motu case had been registered against unidentified persons under Section 302, 201 Indian Penal Code. After the case was transferred to regular police, SI Chandra Pal had said after investigation that police had not stepped on any substantial clue to crack the murder case. Things were proving difficult to crack as the case was handed over to police after over one month of the murder, he had said.
The investigators seem to be stumbling in the darkness with months elapsing. “We hoped that a breakthrough would come about after the case was transferred to CBCID. But things keep circling in the futile cycle,” one of the near ones of the deceased said.