Two held after decomposed body of former municipal councillor recovered from gorge in Uttarakhand

Two siblings were arrested in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar after the decomposed body of a 35-year-old lawyer and former municipal councillor, who had been missing for nearly two weeks, was recovered from a deep gorge near the Gomti River, police said on Wednesday.

Police have arrested both Bhandari and Bisht on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing the disappearance of evidence.The deceased, Dhirendra Parihar alias Kakku, a resident of Bagnath ward, had gone missing on October 17.

His mother, Nandi Parihar, had lodged a complaint on October 31 stating that her son had left home for the Bageshwar market on the evening of October 17 but never returned. Bageshwar Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Mehra said the police teams examined CCTV footage and analysed mobile phone records following the complaint.

“Technical surveillance established that Dhirendra’s last communication was with a mobile number belonging to a woman named Lata Bhandari (42), a resident of Numaishkhet,” the SP said. During interrogation, Bhandari confessed to the crime.

“Lata told police that Dhirendra had visited her house on the night of October 17. She alleged that he attempted to sexually assault her, following which she struck him twice on the head with an iron rod in self-defence.

She then concealed the body under a cot,” SP Mehra said. Bhandari informed her brother, Tribhuvan Singh Bisht alias Bablu (39), a resident of Kathayatbada, about the incident the following day. “The duo placed the body in the back of a car on the night of October 18 and dumped it into a gorge near Dhunai Bend on the Bageshwar–Girechhina motor road,” a police officer said.

Police have arrested both Bhandari and Bisht on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing the disappearance of evidence. Based on information provided by the duo, a joint team of police and fire service personnel launched a search operation late Tuesday night at Digar Patal in Thunai, off Nadigaon Road.

The body was retrieved from the deep gorge, after which police completed inquest proceedings and sent the remains to the district hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination. “The iron rod used in the crime and the vehicle used to transport the body were seized.

Our investigation into the matter is underway,” the officer said.