Two siblings arrested in murder case of former municipal council member

The decomposed body of 35-year-old lawyer and former municipal council member Dhirendra Parihar, alias Kakku, who had been missing for the last two weeks in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district, has been found in a deep gorge. In connection with this incident, the police have arrested Lata Bhandari and her brother Tribhuvan Singh Bisht, alias Bablu. Dhirendra, a resident of Bagnath ward, had gone missing on 17 October.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Dhirendra's mother, Nandi Parihar, filed a complaint on 31 October stating that her son had left for Bageshwar market on the evening of 17 October but had not returned. Following this complaint, the police investigated CCTV footage and mobile phone records. Bageshwar Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Mehra stated that technical surveillance revealed Dhirendra's last contact was with the mobile number of Lata Bhandari, a resident of Numaishet.

During police interrogation, Lata Bhandari confessed to the crime. According to SP Mehra, Lata told the police that on the night of 17 October, Dhirendra came to her house and attempted to sexually assault her. In response, Lata hit him twice on the head with an iron rod in self-defence and subsequently hid the body under a cot.

Lata informed her brother, Tribhuvan Singh Bisht, about the incident the following day. A police officer stated that on the night of 18 October, both of them placed the body in a car and threw it into a gorge near Dhunai Band on the Bageshwar-Girechi motor road. Based on information provided by the accused, a joint team of the police and fire services conducted a search operation at Digger Patel on Nadiganv road on Tuesday night and recovered the body.

The police have sent the body to the district hospital mortuary for a post-mortem. Additionally, the iron rod used in the crime and the vehicle used to transport the body have been seized. The police have registered a case against both the accused under charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.