Ranchi police on Thursday recovered bodies of two brothers from the abandoned office of a private news channel in Ashok Nagar hours after their family lodged a missing complaint with the Lalpur Police Station in Ranchi.
Mahendra Agarwal and Hemant Agarwal, who worked with a cargo company, left their residence in Shivam Apartment on Wednesday night. Their family lodged a complaint with the Lalpur Police Station fearing that the two may have been abducted by one Laukesh Choudhary, the franchise owner of a private news channel.
When the police visited the news channel’s office on Thursday morning, they found the main door locked and learned that the channel has been shut.
Inside the premises of the locked office, police found bodies of Hemant and Mahendra lying in a pool of blood. The two were shot dead and the police suspect that there were at least four more persons present at the spot at the time of the incident.
Superintendent of Police (City), Sujata Veenapani said that initial investigation indicates that Choudhary played a role in the double murder. However, Choudhary is absconding and the police have launched a manhunt to nab him.
“Prima facie, it seems that the franchise owner of the news channel is behind the murder. He is absconding,” said Veenapani.
Family of Mahendra and Hemant claim that there was some financial dispute between Choudhary and the two brothers. Choudhary may have first abducted them and then executed the murder, they told the police.
Om Prakash Agarwal, father of the deceased brothers, said that the two had left home in hurry on Wednesday evening and their phones became unreachable in the night.