Skeletal remains of a cop missing since 26/7 found

Months after an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) went missing, his skeleton was found near Aslali village in Ahmedabad district on Monday night. Police suspect it to be a case of murder, and have started investigations.  

According to police sources, Jeevan Patel, 50, the ASI of Bapunagar police station, had gone missing from Hardashnagar on July 27, 2008, the day after Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts. His son, Amit, had lodged a missing complaint with the Bapunagar police station, but Patel could not be traced all this while.

On Monday night, a resident of Gamdi village near Aslali saw the skeletal remains of the ASI in a bush behind a temple. “The body was identified with the help of his name plate,” a police source said. An identity card and a diary were also recovered from the pocket of the cop’s uniform.

The villager immediately informed the sarpanch, Atmaram, who, in turn, informed the Aslalai police station. PSI AJ Chavda and DySP RB Rana rushed to the spot for investigation and also informed the family of the deceased. Amit Patel and his mother Taraben reached the spot and identified the body.

Rana told DNA, “We have lodged a complaint of accidental death right now, but we are investigating the murder angle in the case. We will conduct a DNA test of the body to doubly check the identity of the deceased.” He also said that the remains of the body have been sent to a FSL lab for identification.