Lucknow: Rae Bareli police on Thursday said they have solved the murder of a 45-year-old watchman within 72 hours, arresting his cousin who allegedly killed him over an extramarital relationship with the victim’s wife.The accused — Raj Kishore — allegedly attacked Binda Prasad, a watchman employed at a Jal Jeevan Mission water tank project, while he was asleep at a construction site in Thakurain Khera village.According to investigators, the accused repeatedly struck the victim with a sharp-edged weapon, slit his throat, mutilated his face and severed parts of his nose and ears before fleeing.The murder came to light on June 16 morning when villagers heading towards nearby fields discovered Binda Prasad’s body lying on a cot. The body was sent for postmortem and probe launched to identify the killer.During the investigation, call detail records of the victim and his family and other details led investigators to Raj Kishore.Police detained the suspect for questioning, during which he allegedly confessed to the crime.According to police, Raj Kishore admitted that he had been involved in an illicit relationship with Binda Prasad’s wife for nearly three years. The woman is the mother of two children. Investigators said the victim had earlier learned about the relationship and reprimanded both.Raj Kishore allegedly told police that he wanted to live with his cousin’s wife but she was unwilling to leave her family. He claimed that he viewed Binda Prasad as the biggest obstacle to his plans.Police said on June 15, after dinner, Prasad went to sleep at the water tank site. Kishore reached there armed with a banka (a sharp-edged agricultural weapon) and carried out the attack.Based on Raj Kishore’s disclosure, police recovered the weapon used in the murder and registered a case. He was produced before a local court, which remanded him to judicial custody.Circle officer, Maharajganj, Pradeep Kumar said preliminary investigations indicate that the alleged extramarital relationship was the primary motive behind the murder.
