In a major breakthrough in the murder of British national, Roddick Andrew Raymond, the Southeast police have detained two auto drivers and the two touts involved in arranging hotel rooms to the foreigners. They are, however, denying their involvement in the murder. But it has now become clear that Roddick was murdered during the late hours of April 25.
Roddick had disembarked on Nizamuddin railway station from Goa on the same morning. Several teams of Southeast district have been pressed into service to unravel the mystery behind the murder of the British national. The police investigation is veering around the theory whether drug traffickers were involved in the gory murder or notIJ
Sources said that the all four persons in the preventive custody of the Southeast district police were involved in taking Roddick to lavkush hotel in Pahargaj area in Central Delhi. Those involved in the investigations are baffled as the cellphone locations of the all the four suspects are not matching. Meanwhile, the post-mortem report has negated the theory that Roddick was killed after being hit with a heavy object on his head.
It appears that the marks of laceration on his head were caused due to decomposition of the body. Forensic experts of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have opined that there was no external wound on the body. This finding has further deepened the mystery as sleuths are trying to peace together the sequence of event leading to the death of the British tourist.
The investigations have revealed that when Roddick got down from the train at Nizamuddin railway station, he was carrying a small bag with and looked disheveled. It was here he was accosted by the touts who are adept in sizing up the monetary condition of a tourist.
Roddick met one Umesh, a tout, and reportedly asked him to arrange for a cheap hotel to him. Manmohan, another tout, joined them. They took Roddick to lavkush Hotel in Chunamandi area of Paharganj and arranged a room for `400 a day. The hotel manager reportedly paid Umesh a commission of `100 for the same.
Roddick then asked Umesh and Manmohan that he wanted to consume liquor and they took him to nearby Green Chilly restaurant. He brought two bottles of strong beer and then took a cycle rickshaw to come to Ram Krishna Mission metro station and there was no trace of him since then.
Roddick’s body was found stashed in a plastic bag with a chain on Sunday morning in Bhogal area. Investigators are now trying to find out the source of plastic bag as such bags are not available in Bhogal and its adjoining areas. It means Roddick was murdered somewhere else and his body was dumped in Bhogal. Those involved in the investigations say that Roddick was not carrying much cash, hence the motive of robbery has been ruled out.