Guwahati, Feb 6: Guwahati City police have arrested a couple from Bengal in connection with the murder of a businessman from Pune who was found dead in a luxury hotel here on Monday evening.
The victim, Sandeep Suresh Kamble (44), was a trader who dealt in cars, diamonds and used to travel across the country for business purposes.
According to police, the couple — Anjali Shaw and her boyfriend Vikash Kumar Shaw – were arrested on the basis of evidence collected from CCTV footage obtained from the hotel and subsequently interrogated during which they confessed to committing the crime.
Acting on evidence from CCTV footage obtained from the hotel, police nabbed the couple near the Guwahati airport while they were attempting to flee the city.
Giving details of the case, police said that information was received from the management of Radisson Blu that a telephone call was received at the hotel’s reception that the guest at room number 922 might be sick and that someone should check on him.
Immediately, the hotel staff rushed to the room and found the guest, Kamble lying dead in a pool of blood.
On receipt of the information, DCP West Guwahati along with ADCP West, ACP Jalukbari and IC Jalukbari outpost, along with their teams, reached the place of occurrence. Thereafter, an investigation was conducted.
“On receipt of the information about the suspected murder, forensic teams from FSL, Guwahati and finger print experts from CID were requisitioned and investigation taken up. The details of the victim were taken from the records of the hotel and it was found that he had checked in at the hotel on Monday afternoon along with a lady named Anjali Shaw (25),” a statement from city police said on Tuesday.
“On analysis of the CCTV footage of the hotel, it was found that the lady had left the room along with another person at around 2:45pm. When the movement of this third person, later identified as Vikash Kumar Shaw, was tracked in the footage, it was found that he too was lodged in the same hotel,” police said.
The details along with photos of the suspects were immediately circulated for interception. “Further, on checking their names at LGBI Airport, it was found that both of them had booked a ticket to Kolkata by Indigo Flight No 6E 6664 (departure time 9:15 pm),” police said.
The mobile phone number from which the telephone call came to the hotel reception was found to be belonging to the suspect, Vikash Kumar Shaw.
“On the basis of the information gathered about the suspected persons, a police naka was set up at Borjhar police outpost area along the roads leading to the airport and both the suspected persons were caught by teams from Borjhar police outpost led by sub-inspector Sanjib Handique at 5:42pm on their way to the airport. During interrogation they confessed to committing the crime,” police said.
Police said that the victim and Anjali have been in touch since September 2023.
“Their relationship became intimate. During such intimate encounters, the victim took photographs of their intimate moments. The victim, although already married, wanted to marry Anjali and kept forcing her to break off her relationship with Vikash,” police said.
“Gradually, Anjali started avoiding the victim. But the victim became more possessive and started blackmailing her by showing their photographs of intimate moments. At one point of time, Anjali cut off relationship with the victim. However, the victim became aggressive and started contacting Anjali’s family members and boyfriend Vikash to try to force her to marry him,” police said.
“The victim also shared his and Anjali’s intimate photographs with Vikash. When Anjali could not bear the torture, she and her boyfriend hatched a plan to meet Sandeep in a hotel and snatch his phones so that the blackmailing would stop. They decided that Anjali would plan a meeting with Sandeep in Kolkata and then Vikash would join them and together they would overpower him and take away his phones,” police said.
“For this, Anjali contacted the victim to meet him. But the victim became suspicious and refused to meet in Kolkata. Instead, the victim agreed to meet in Guwahati. Accordingly, all the three persons came to Guwahati separately. Anjali met Sandeep at LGBI Airport and then left for Radisson Blu where they checked in at room number 922. This information was passed on to Vikash by Anjali and he too arrived at Radisson Blu and checked into room number 1024,” police said.
On Monday afternoon (around 2pm), Anjali kept the door of their hotel room open so that Vikash could enter. Thereafter, a scuffle ensued between Vikash and the victim, during which Sandeep was severely injured and later succumbed to his injuries.