The murder of a Delhi-based couple, who was on holiday in Chakrata area of Dehradun, has raised serious questions about the safety of tourists visiting the hill State.
The Uttarakhand Police has time and again claimed that ensuring the safety of tourists is one of its top priorities but the double murder flies in the face of these claims. Meanwhile, Chief MinisterHarish Rawat has expressed his concern over the security of the tourists and said that a modern tracking system would be set up in the State for ensuring safety of tourists in the State.
Delhi resident Momita Das (27) and her boyfriend Abhijeet Das were in a live-in relationship. Momita was a teacher of fine arts in a school while Abhijeet was a painter. The police informed that the duo arrived in Chakrata town on October 22 and booked a private taxi on October 23 for sightseeing.
Momita had told her parents on phone that they had hired a driver Raju for sightseeing on October 23. The couple went untraceable since then and the worried parents had lodged a missing report with the Delhi Police.
The team of Delhi Police traced the location on the basis of mobile phone and zeroed in on the driver Raju who was arrested and interrogated. Station Officer of Chakrata police station Mukesh Thaledi told The Pioneer that Raju has confessed to his involvement in the double murder.
Based on the information provided by him, the police arrested his accomplices —Bobby, Kundan and Guddu all belonging to the Tungroli village of Chakrata. A case against the accused has been registered in the Purola police station.
On the basis of Raju’s disclosure, the police team has indentified the unclaimed body, which was found in Naugaon area and was cremated on October 30, as Abhijeet. Thaledi said that the police teams conducted an extensive search for the body of Momita on Tuesday but failed in its attempt. Police sources said that the Raju is misleading the police about the location of the crime. Though the accused denied raping Momita, the police are not ruling out the possibility of rape before her murder. The arrested would be produced before the court on Wednesday.
Incidentally, Chakrata due to its natural beauty, tranquillity and peace is emerging as a favourite destination of the tourists but incidences like murder of tourists could take toll on tourists’ inflow.