• Source:JND
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A man, Shrikant Chaudhary, from Kharsan village in Jharkhand's Giridih district, died by suicide on Tuesday in a case described as “revenge over a love affair” after being arrested for allegedly murdering two women, Soni Devi (23) and Rinku Devi (31), both residents of Neemadhi village. Preliminary police investigations suggest the women were strangled to death, and their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.

Shrikant Chaudhary And Soni Devi In Relationship

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According to police, Chaudhary had been in a relationship with Soni Devi for the past two years, despite her being married. Soni, in her third marriage, had a husband lodged in jail for a murder case. Chaudhary, who worked in Mumbai’s film industry, reportedly suspected Soni of having relationships with other men. He returned to the village and allegedly killed her in the forest by strangulation as an act of revenge. To eliminate evidence, he also killed her friend, Rinku Devi, a woman with seven children.

Panchayat Declared The Affair Illegal

Earlier, a panchayat had declared the affair “illegal” and fined Chaudhary Rs 1.7 lakh, but the relationship continued. According to an IANS report, Soni’s family alleged that Chaudhary had recently threatened her, saying he would kill her if she stopped communicating with him. Last Thursday, Soni went to the forest to collect leaves with Rinku, after which both went missing.

Two days later, Soni’s mother filed a missing persons complaint at the Gawan police station, suspecting Shrikant Chaudhary’s involvement. She also handed over her daughter’s mobile phone to assist the investigation.

Analysis of call detail records led investigators to Chaudhary, who, during interrogation, confessed to the murders. Acting on his disclosure, police recovered the bodies from Golgo Hill forest, about four kilometres from Neemadhi village.

Villagers Protest Outside Police Station

The incident sparked widespread anger in the area. On Tuesday, hundreds of villagers, along with the victims’ families, protested outside Gawan police station, accusing the authorities of negligence and alleging that police had demanded bribes to search for the bodies. The crowd also demanded that the accused be handed over to them.

Sub Divisional Police Officer Rajendra Prasad said that after Choudhary was brought back to the local police station, a crowd gathered outside. “Villagers, especially women, gathered outside the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them. They said he had killed two women and should be killed in the same way. They threatened that if handed over, they would kill him and go to jail themselves. The situation became tense, but we managed to pacify the crowd,” Prasad said.

Prasad denied that there was any custodial violence against Choudhary and said the National Human Rights Commission may conduct an inquiry.

Shrikant Chaudhary Attempted Suicide After Arrest  

The SDPO said that he then left the police station to attend a press conference. “By the time I returned, I was informed that the accused had hanged himself in the lockup with a cable wire and a flag rope. When discovered, he was still alive and was rushed first to a local health centre and later to Sadar Hospital, about 70 km away. He died there during treatment,” Prasad said.

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“Choudhary’s death was completely unexpected. We could not imagine he would take such a decision. He had listened to villagers saying that even if he came out alive, they would kill him,” Prasad said.

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