3 kill diamond broker, travel 136km to dispose of body in Gujarat's Amreli district

RAJKOT: A bid to recover Rs 11 lakh resulted in the murder of a 55-year-old diamond broker and three members of a family, including a minor boy, landing in jail for the alleged crime on Sunday.
Talaja police in Bhavnagar district arrested Rahul Parmar (26) and his brother-in-law Kishan alias Kano Chudasama (19) along with their 17-year-old relative, for allegedly strangling diamond broker Dhiru Rathod.The accused allegedly killed Rathod in Talaja taluka of Bhavnagar district and burnt the body in Dharai village of Amreli district - 136 km away.
The charred body of the deceased was found around 3am on Sunday. The deceased's son, Deven Rathod (36), had on Saturday filed a case against the accused at Nilambag police station in Bhavnagar city under sections 103(1), 238, and 54 of the BNS.
According to Amreli deputy superintendent of police, Chirag Desai, a PCR van from Babra police station received information from a gram rakshar dal (GRD) jawan about a suspicious car near Dharai village. "Upon investigation, police found three individuals inside the car. They also detected the smell of something burning nearby. On questioning, the trio told police that they had burnt the body of Dhiru Rathod. They confessed to strangling him with a towel on Gopnath Road in Talaja town before attempting to burn the body," Desai added.
Police sources revealed that Parmar, the mastermind behind the murder, had been demanding Rs 11 lakh dues from Rathod for the past one year. However, Rathod kept making excuses, which resulted in Parmar paying interest on credit that he had taken from another person. Parmar and Rathod are diamond brokers and have done business together in the past.
Police said that Parmar and Chudasama planned to sell the diamonds in Rathod's possession and keep the money before fleeing to Dwarka. The accused allegedly abducted Rathod from near Jewellers Circle in Bhavnagar and drove towards Talaja. On the way, the accused and Rathod entered into a heated argument. In a fit of anger, the accused put a towel around Rathod's neck and strangled him.
According to Desai, after murdering Rathod, the accused panicked and decided to dispose of the body by burning it with flammable liquid purchased from a petrol pump. They drove 136 km to Dharai village where they burnt the body and got caught.
Meanwhile, Rathod's son Deven informed police that his father had left home on Saturday with the accused to sell diamonds in Talaja. When his father did not return till 9pm, he tried calling him, but the phone was switched off. Following this, police began an investigation.
A diamond trader, Dinesh Jadav, confirmed to police that Rathod had visited his office around 3pm on Saturday and handed over diamonds worth Rs 5.20 lakh. Jadav also mentioned discussing diamond prices with Rathod, who was with the accused trio at the time.