MARGAO: Around 26 days after the detention and subsequent murder of Kanhaiya Kumar, a 32-year-old labourer from Bihar, Maina-Curtorim police have seized CCTV footage from Ponda police station for forensic analysis. Kanhaiya Kumar’s body was found in Loutolim on June 24.
The CCTV footage, now at the forensic lab in Verna, is crucial for understanding what transpired when Kanhaiya Kumar was brought to the Ponda police station.
“The murder is not solved as yet, we are looking for more evidence. The weapon used remains unrecovered, and the motive behind the murder is still unclear,” a senior police officer told O Heraldo on condition of anonymity.
According to police sources, on June 24, Ponda police responded to a call about a disturbance. Kanhaiya Kumar was brought to the station, questioned, and later transported in a police jeep. However, there was no record of his detention in the station diary, and the exact location where he was dropped off remains unclear. This incident led to the suspension of Head Constable Ravindra P Naik and Constables Ashwin V Sawant and Pritesh M Prabhu, who were attached to the SPCR, Panjim. These officers have been transferred to the Margao reserve line following their suspension.
Later that night, around 1.45 am, Maina-Curtorim police found Kanhaiya Kumar’s body by the roadside near Garcia Braganca garden in Loutolim, with injuries that indicated he was run over by a truck. Initially, the case was registered as a hit-and-run under Sections 279 and 304A of the IPC for rash and negligent driving, causing death. However, the autopsy revealed a sharp weapon injury on Kanhaiya’s neck, suggesting foul play. On July 6, the case was reclassified as murder.
The investigation led to the arrest of truck driver Vasudev Madar, from Belagavi on July 10. Madar is currently in judicial custody on a 14-day remand.