Acquitted in wife’s murder, Chhattisgarh man is arrested in another killing – exactly seven years later

When his 19-year-old wife was found murdered on April 2, 2018, the needle of suspicion pointed to then 21-year-old Suraj Dhruv. Now, barely a year after his acquittal by the Chhattisgarh High Court in that case, Dhruv is once again in police custody for another murder — discovered on the same calendar date and in the same district, but seven years apart.

On January 17, police in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district arrested Dhruv on charges of allegedly murdering a 55-year-old woman on April 2 last year. The burnt remains of the woman, found in a teak forest near the Kodar dam in Mahasamund, were traced through a missing person’s report and identified as Sunita Rajak.

The arrest, a year after his acquittal in the earlier case, followed a new lead — CCTV footage — that emerged after the district got a new superintendent of police, Prabhat Kumar.

“I was asked to work on the undetected murders and I started by looking for technical leads in the case,” said Dinesh Kumar Yadav, police inspector and in charge of Tumgaon police station.

Police said Sunita Rajak and her husband Rajesh — both from neighbouring Dhamtari district — were in debt of Rs 7 lakh and were looking to repay it when she met Dhruv on January 30 last year. Sunita, according to investigators, was returning home after visiting her sisters when Dhruv offered to drop her at the nearest bus stand. Instead, police allege, he promised her a job and took her to a dilapidated building near his relative’s home, where she remained for two months.

In March, police said, Dhruv, after Sunita repeatedly insisted on being allowed to return home, took her to a nearby jungle and strangled her, stealing her gold jewellery. Days later, tendu patta collectors alerted a forest guard, who informed the police.

Meanwhile, when she did not return home for months, Sunita’s family began searching for her and filed a missing person’s report. Days later, after tendu collectors alerted authorities, she was identified.

After Sunita’s body was found on April 2 last year, her husband Rajesh died by suicide.

According to police, the case soon went cold and was revived after CCTV footage from a year ago showed Dhruv riding a motorcycle with Sunita. The lead helped police identify the bike — belonging to Dhruv’s relative — and eventually trace him.

Dhruv’s arrest came over a year after the Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted him in another murder case — that of his 19-year-old wife, Santoshi. Her body was found in a nullah behind their residence on April 2, 2018, the same day Dhruv reported her missing.

A day later, Dhruv was arrested and a Sessions court in 2019, relying on evidence including accounts of 12 eyewitnesses, his confession and a bamboo stick he allegedly used to strangle her, sentenced him to life imprisonment. The verdict was overturned by the high court on December 13, 2024.

Acquitting Dhruv, the court said: “We are of the considered view that the prosecution has failed to discharge its primary burden of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt and also failed to complete the chain of circumstances. The conviction of the appellant for offence under Sections 302 & 201 of the IPC as well as sentences in that respect are hereby set aside and he is acquitted of the said charges on the basis of principles of benefit of doubt.”

Jayprakash S Naidu is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Ex... Read More