2 murders, 24 hours, 600 metres apart: Fear grips Krishna Nagar

LUCKNOW Residents of Krishna Nagar woke up to another grim discovery on Tuesday, a day after a killing was reported in the same area. The back-to-back murders sent shockwaves through the neighbourhood, leaving residents gripped by fear and raising questions over the safety of the locality. However, police said that both the cases were not linked to each other.

Both the bodies were found within about 600 metres of each other within 24 hours, and close to a mall bringing renewed focus on night-time policing on a stretch that residents said remains active late into the night but sees little visible patrolling. FIRs under Section 103(1) of BNS were lodged in both cases.

The second body, that of a 32-year-old woman identified as Radha, was found on Tuesday morning in the LDA-I chowki area, on busy Kanpur road, around 600 metres from where the body of a construction worker was found a day earlier and 300 metres from a police outpost. What stands out on the ground is that neither location is a deserted or isolated stretch. The second crime spot is also barely about 20 metres from a police assistance centre, while a police outpost lies between the two locations.

Residents at both spots told HT that they rarely see police patrol the area at night, despite people continuing to gather around the busy stretches late into the night.

The latest case came to light around 7.52am when police received information about a woman’s body lying in the LDA-1 chowki area. “The woman had suffered an injury to her head. Prima facie identified as Radha, she used to live by the roadside near Barabirwa with a man named Bhola,” the police stated in an official release.

According to ADCP (south) Vasanth Rallapalli, the two had a dispute over some issue, following which the incident took place. “Police teams are examining CCTV footage from the spot and surrounding areas, while a field unit is collecting evidence. Teams have also been formed to investigate the case,” he said.

“Police are also trying to trace Radha’s family and have sent the body for post-mortem examination,” the ADCP added.

The development came barely a day after another body was found in the same police station area.

Around 6.30am on Monday, police were informed that the body of Ram Babu Maurya, about 35, was lying on a pile of construction sand beside the road near SS Grand Hotel. The ADCP said Maurya, a construction worker, had cut and injury marks on his neck apparently caused by a sharp object.

“A field unit collected evidence from the spot and the body was sent for post-mortem examination. Some suspects were being questioned and further action would follow based on their questioning,” the officer said.

No night patrolling: Locals

Locals painted a picture of an area that remains far from deserted after dark. Kapil, a local who runs a business in the area, told HT that there was no visible police patrolling at night in the area and that people frequently gathered around a liquor shop nearby after 8-9pm and stayed there late into the night.

Residents near the second crime scene also raised similar concerns. “There would not have been a second incident, if police actually cared about night patrolling despite the area remaining active after dark due to presence of multiple liquor shops which supply alcohol to locals overnight,” said a shopkeeper adjacent the second spot, who was one of the first to see the body.

In the case of Maurya, locals also said a birthday party was taking place in the vicinity before the incident. They claimed the incident occurred after the gathering. Police have not, however, publicly established any connection between the birthday party and the murder.

The physical proximity of the two crime scenes also prompted questions about whether the cases could be connected. “So far, there is no established link between the two cases and they are being investigated separately,” said the ADCP while stressing that regular patrolling is done in the area.