NAINITAL: When Haldwani Police found the body of a young businessman, Ankit Chauhan, 32, inside his car on July 15, it was taken as a case of death by suffocation. However, as the police began to unravel the case, it turned out to be a well-planned murder executed by his girlfriend in a way that would give any Bollywood fan a chance.
The body of Chauhan, a resident of Rambagh Colony, Rampur Road, was found in the back seat of his car near the Teenpani railway junction. Police discovered that the car’s air conditioning was emanating carbon monoxide, which they suspected had caused the businessman’s death. However, the autopsy revealed snake bites on both of Chauhan’s legs and the cause of death turned out to be snake venom poisoning.
Police officers then began to investigate further, examining nearby CCTV cameras and details of Chauhan’s call, which is when Mahi Arya’s name came to light. Mahi and Chauhan were alleged to be dating. Meanwhile, Chauhan’s sister Isha filed a report in haldwani police station, accusing Mahi and his friend Deep Kandpal of murdering Chauhan.
Examining the details of Mahi’s call led police to a snake charmer Ramesh Nath, who later revealed the grisly murder plot during interrogation.
The snake charmer told the police that Mahi had approached him and sought their help in having a snake bite Chauhan to make the murder look like an accident. She paid him 10,000 rupees for the job, she said, adding that Mahi was upset with Chauhan’s constant interference in her life and now she wanted to get rid of him.
According to the snake charmer, Mahi and all the other defendants have fled to Nepal. Nainital SSP Pankaj Bhatt said that two teams have been formed to track down the accused.
The body of Chauhan, a resident of Rambagh Colony, Rampur Road, was found in the back seat of his car near the Teenpani railway junction. Police discovered that the car’s air conditioning was emanating carbon monoxide, which they suspected had caused the businessman’s death. However, the autopsy revealed snake bites on both of Chauhan’s legs and the cause of death turned out to be snake venom poisoning.
Police officers then began to investigate further, examining nearby CCTV cameras and details of Chauhan’s call, which is when Mahi Arya’s name came to light. Mahi and Chauhan were alleged to be dating. Meanwhile, Chauhan’s sister Isha filed a report in haldwani police station, accusing Mahi and his friend Deep Kandpal of murdering Chauhan.
Examining the details of Mahi’s call led police to a snake charmer Ramesh Nath, who later revealed the grisly murder plot during interrogation.
The snake charmer told the police that Mahi had approached him and sought their help in having a snake bite Chauhan to make the murder look like an accident. She paid him 10,000 rupees for the job, she said, adding that Mahi was upset with Chauhan’s constant interference in her life and now she wanted to get rid of him.
According to the snake charmer, Mahi and all the other defendants have fled to Nepal. Nainital SSP Pankaj Bhatt said that two teams have been formed to track down the accused.