THE KIDNAPPING AND MURDER OF SANJAY AGARWALLA

By By J. Chakravarty

(The author, Shri J. Chakravarty is an officer of Indian Police Service of 1986 batch. He is currently the Deputy Inspector General of Police, CID, Assam.)

t was 26th March, 1975. Holi was being celebrated with great fervour and gaiety at Barabazar, Tinsukia, where a pandal had been erected but the festivity turned into gloom when Mr. Chubil Prasad Agarwalla of Siding bazaar found that his 9 years old son, Sanjay was missing. The boy had gone to Barabazar to celebrate Holi. A missing person report was lodged at Tinsukia Police Station on 27th March at 8.30 AM.

n the afternoon of 27th Mr. Chubil Agarwalla received a telephone call. The caller claimed that Sanjay had been kidnapped by him and demanded a ransom of Rs. 3 lakhs for his safe return. Later the same day, the half pant worn by Sanjay and a letter written in English were sent to him by an unknown person through a rickshaw puller. The letter directed Mr. Agarwalla to pay the ransom at Jewel Hotel, Dibrugarh on 28-03-1975. Mr. Agarwalla reported the matter to police and a case No. 43(3)75 was registered at Tinsukia P.S. Mr. Agarwalla went to Jewel Hotel on 28-03-1975 with a bag stuffed with papers but the kidnappers did not contact him as they saw a large crowd gathered there. The kidnappers conveyed their unhappiness over this to Mr. Agarwalla through a telegram from Moran hat Post Office.

eanwhile, vigorous police investigation had started and the police stations of Dibrugarh and the neighbouring districts were alerted.

n 8th April, Mr. Agarwalla received another telephone call asking him to come with the ransom to Church field, Digboi, where further directions would be given to him. Mr. Agarwalla bargained with the caller to bring down the ransom amount to Rs. 40 thousand. On 9th April, he along with a few police officers dressed as Marwari businessmen went to Church field and found a letter written in English with a sketch map showing the place where the amount was to be handed over. On the advice of the police, Mr. Agarwalla wrote out a note saying that he was afraid to go to the place and that a safer place should be indicated. The party came back leaving the note at the place where the letter from the kidnappers was found.

he police had reason to suspect that the kidnappers were hiding somewhere near Digboi and that they would contact Mr. Agarwalla over phone at his Tinsukia residence again. Therefore plain clothes police personnel were deployed at each Public Call Office to look out for persons booking a call to the Tinsukia number 159, Mr. Agarwalla's residence phone.

he two week long suspense finally came to an end when a man appeared at the Digboi PCO at 8 PM on 10-04-1975 and booked a call to the Tinsukia number 159. Henry W. Roberts, an employee of ONGC, Sivsagar was promptly apprehended and during interrogation he gave away the whole story.

enry, along with Sunil Biswas, another employee of ONGC and Anil Baruah, a petty contractor of ONGC, hatched a criminal conspiracy to make some quick money by kidnapping for ransom children of wealthy people. On 25-03-1975, they made an attempt at Dibrugarh which they had to abort as the relatives of the child became suspicious. Next day they came to Tinsukia and targeted small children celebrating Holi at Barabazar. Henry was finally successful in enticing away Sanjay by offering sweets. After a round in the town in a rickshaw, a taxi was arranged to take the kidnapped boy to Digboi. Leaving Anil at Tinsukia, Henry and Sunil boarded the taxi with the kidnapped boy. On way to Digboi, they killed the boy in order to destroy evidence and avoid chances of detection. Later that evening, they buried the boy in a graveyard near Digboi. Next day Henry went to Tinsukia with the half pant worn by the boy and contacted the boy's father for ransom. Another employee of ONGC, Naresh Chandra Ghatani, also joined the gang.

he other culprits were speedily arrested and they all confessed their crime. Henry led the police to the graveyard and pointed out the place where the victim had been buried. A skeleton with a skull was recovered. The post mortem examination could not establish the age, sex or identity of the person whose skeleton remains were found.

o connect the accused person to the crime, it was essential to establish that the skeleton was that of Sanjay Agarwalla and no body else. The skeleton was sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Guwahati. The Forensic scientist used the photographic superimposition technique and analysis and gave a conclusive opinion that the skeleton was that of Sanjay. The culprits were identified by several witnesses of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Digboi in a Test Identification Parade.

he case was charge sheeted in 1977. It came up for trial in the court of the District and Session Judge, Dibrugarh in November 1980. Prosecution put up 43 witnesses to prove the charge. Despite a grueling cross-examination by the defense, the forensic scientists could convince the court about the reliability of the technique they used to establish the identity of the skeleton. It was also established that the two ransom notes were written by Henry.

he court held Henry and Sunil guilty u/s 364/302/201/34 IPC. The driver of the taxicab that took the culprits to Digboi was also sent up for trial, but he was acquitted, as there was no evidence to show that he had knowledge about the commission of crime.

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