Guard and worker accused of assaulting jailer’s daughter:Strangled her; later pretended to search to avoid suspicion

In Part-1 of Madhya Pradesh Crime Files, you read how the body of an assistant jailer’s daughter was found in a septic tank in a secure jail colony. The post-mortem report revealed that she was murdered after being raped. The biggest question was who committed this crime with Tina. Now read the story of that investigation which exposed the killers. As the investigation began on the morning of February 21, 1996, the police questioned the neighbours. This is where the first clue was found. Prachi (name changed), who lived in the neighbourhood, and her mother stated that they had heard a loud scream around 11 AM on the morning of February 20. Upon going outside, everything appeared normal. Santosh and Molai were working in the garden, and boys were playing cricket in the nearby field. Read the rest of the story in Crime Files Part-2 Bicycle recovered from septic tank, the lie was broken The police had found a solid direction for the investigation. There were contradictions in the statements of the accused. During intense interrogation in custody, Santosh confessed to the crime and led the police to the place where he had hidden the evidence. Based on his information, Tina’s bicycle was recovered from the septic tank. This confirmed Prachi’s testimony and made it clear that the accused were lying. Scientific evidence of brutality The post-mortem report and forensic investigation revealed the brutality of the murder. Traces of human blood and sperm were found on Tina’s clothes and bedsheet, confirming rape. Tina had struggled hard to save her life. There were bite marks on her cheeks and clear signs of struggle on her body. After the rape, she was strangled and then stabbed in the stomach with a knife. Failed attempt to destroy evidence The investigation revealed that Molai and Santosh had tried to destroy evidence after the crime. They threw Tina’s body into a septic tank, cleaned the blood spread in the room, and hid the blood-stained clothes and sheet in a pile of hay in a room of the house. The ‘underwear’ that led to the gallows In this case, the biggest scientific evidence was a torn piece of cloth. The cloth used to strangle Tina was part of an underwear. FSL investigation proved that the piece of cloth recovered at Molai’s instance and the cloth wrapped around Tina’s neck were two parts of the same underwear. This irrefutable evidence closed all escape routes for the accused. Court’s Verdict: ‘Rarest of Rare’ Case The case reached the court. The prosecution presented a strong case based on witnesses, forensic reports, and recoveries. The court held that the accused not only murdered a minor but also betrayed the family’s trust. On February 18, 1997, the Sessions Court convicted both and sentenced them to death. Later, the High Court also upheld the decision and considered it a ‘rarest of rare’ crime.