Thaindian News

Jaipur, July 2 (IANS) An accused in the Bhanwari Devi murder case, who had escaped from the police custody after a shoot-out between his accomplices and policemen at a court in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city June 14, was re-arrested Monday, police said.

The accused, Kailash Jakhar was hiding in a house at a hamlet surrounded by sand dunes near Sujangarh in Churu district, some 250 km from Jaipur.

“A special team had been rushed to Sujangarh Sunday night when we got a tip-off about Jakhar’s presence there. The house in which he was hiding was surrounded by five policemen,” said Jodhpur Commissioner of Police Bhupendra Dak.

He added that Jakhar and one more man, identified as Trilok Kharada, tried to escape when they realised that the house has been surrounded.

“However they could not succeed. They have been brought to Jodhpur where they are being intensely interrogated. We are trying to know the entire conspiracy behind his escape about 18 days ago,” said the officer.

Jakhar had been brought to the district and sessions court in Jodhpur June 14 for a hearing of another case related to some fraudulent land deals when a ground of about a dozen criminals opened fire on policemen and escaped with Jakhar.

He is accused of disposing the remains of nurse Bhanwari Devi who was abducted and then murdered Sep 1 last year at the alleged behest of sacked state minister Mahipal Maderna and Congress legislator Malkhan Singh Bishnoi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Maderna and Bishnoi in the case. It is alleged that Maderna and Bishnoi were being blackmailed by the nurse on the basis of sex CDs showing them in a compromising position with the nurse.

Bhanwari Devi had allegedly been kidnapped by three men - Shahabuddin, Baldev Jat alias Balia and Sohan Lal. As per the CBI charge sheet filed in a court, the trio murdered the nurse and then handed over her body to Bishna Ram Bishnoi and Jakhar who burnt her to ashes and dumped her remains in a canal in Jodhpur.

The CBI teams had sent some bones collected from the canal to the forensic examination at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to ascertain whether they were of the nurse. FBI is reported to have confirmed that the bones are of Bhanwari Devi.