A special Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court in Kota has handed down a life sentence to 37-year-old Naveen Vaishnav for the murder of his friend, Raju alias Rajkumar, in a grim case of betrayal and robbery that dates back to 2019. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 20,000 on the convict.
Special Public Prosecutor Hitesh Jain detailed that Vaishnav, a resident of Sangod area, and the victim both worked at a factory in the Anantpura area. The tragic sequence of events unfolded on September 23, 2019, when Vaishnav observed Raju withdrawing money from an ATM. Seizing an opportunity, Vaishnav lured Raju to a secluded forest area under the jurisdiction of Anantpura police station. There, he brutally bludgeoned Raju to death, subsequently stealing his money, ATM card, and other personal items before discarding the body in a nearby drain.
The case initially perplexed authorities when Raju’s decomposed body was discovered three days later, prompting a murder investigation against an unidentified individual. Jain emphasized the crucial role of CCTV footage and bank transaction records in unraveling the case, which eventually led to Vaishnav’s arrest.
