In a shocking twist to the late Navy sailor Surajkumar Dubey’s sensational claim that he was abducted and burnt alive, the Palghar police have found gaping holes in the sailor’s claim and are veering around to the conclusion that he might have concocted the abduction story and committed suicide because of the debt trap he had fallen into.
Talking to media persons on Wednesday, Palghar district Superintendent of Police Dattatreya Shinde said that from available evidence and CCTVs record in Chennai, Mumbai, Palghar, it appeared that the deceased might have concocted his abduction story and committed suicide ostensibly due a huge pile of unpaid loans.
Dubey was found in half-burnt, semi-nude condition in a forested area of Palghar district on February 5. Surajkumar succumbed at Sion Hospital in north-central Mumbai, where he had been rushed for treatment. In his dying declaration, Surajkumar – hailing from Daltonganj in Jharkhand – had told the police that he was posted on INS Agrani. He was abducted from Chennai on January 30 and held captive there by three unknown persons, while he was returning to his work station after his vacation.
The abductors allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs. 10 lakh from him. When he refused to pay up the ransom, he was abducted and brought to the jungles of Vevji within the limits of Gholdwad of Talasari in Palghar district, where the abductors allegedly poured petrol on him and set him on fire. The local people alerted the police subsequently.
The Palghar district police had formed 10 teams of 10-member each that visited his hometown, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mumbai and fanned through the Palghar district.
The investigations have now revealed that after the police team reached Chennai, from the CCTV footage of the airport it concluded that he was not abducted there as the victim had claimed. He was also seen stepping in at an ATM kiosk, bus stop and hotel. Later In Talasari in Palghar, he was also seen purchasing diesel from a petrol pump.
Dubey, who hailed from Chainpur in Jharkhand, had boarded Raipur-Hyderabad-Chennai flight on January 30, however, failed to join duty on February 1, which was confirmed to Mumbai Police by the authorities at INS Agrani.
CCTV footage revealed that he came out of the Chennai airport – contrary to his claim that he was abducted near the airport - and had dinner at Hotel Sarvesh and then walked to the Koyambedu bus depot.
Dubey had checked into a lodge in Vellore on the following two days—January 30 and February 1.
“Dubey had checked into the hotel in his own name. This is confirmed by the lodge staffers and CCTV footages we examined. It is not possible that he was abducted and confined in some unknown location for three days,” Shinde said.
“On February 1 evening, Dubey had himself called up his cousin and shouted 'Irfan...Irfan' and then disconnected the phone thus creating doubts that he was kidnapped by some Irfan. ... The CCTV at check posts did not match with the SUV that Dubey had mentioned," the Palghar DSP said.
The investigations have revealed that Dubey invested in stock markets and had piled up huge debts of over Rs 22 lakh – which included nearly 8 lakh as personal loan, Rs 5 lakh that he had taken from a colleague and loan of another Rs 9 lakh from his future in-laws.
Despite the huge loans he had picked up, his two accounts in different branches with State Bank of India showed a measly sum of Rs 392.
As part of their investigations, the Palghar police also checked his Demat accounts and collected details of his profile from Credit Information Bureau India Ltd.