E-Paper
Murder of ex-AAG’s wife in Mohali: Police make 2nd arrest
Police traced the accused’s movements through extensive CCTV analysis; the suspects entered the house around 11.30 pm and exited around 1.30 am
A week after the shocking murder of Ashok Goyal, the wife of former Punjab additional advocate general (AAG) KK Goyal, at their Phase 5 residence, police have arrested the second accused from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh.
On the intervening night of December 29 and 30, the family’s domestic help, Neeraj, 25, who had been working for them for over eight years, had allegedly murdered Ashok along with his two accomplices after she resisted a robbery attempt by the trio.
At the time of the incident, KK Goyal and one of the couple’s two daughters were abroad in Oman to meet the second daughter, leaving Ashok alone at home with Neeraj.
Police said Ashok was sleeping when Neeraj let his two accomplices in late at night. She reportedly woke up and tried to resist the intruders, following which the trio strangled her to death. Two of the suspects then fled with ₹8.5 lakh in cash and 40 tolas of gold jewellery, after tying Neeraj to a chair to mislead the police.
Police said Neeraj was arrested on the evening of January 1 after he confessed to plotting the whole crime. Officials added that one of the accused, apart from Neeraj, had also worked in the same house earlier. Investigating officer Devinder Singh said Neeraj did not maintain a permanent residence in Mohali and had been staying with the victim’s family intermittently.
Investigators revealed that Neeraj and two other accused had met earlier in the Phase 5 market on the day of the crime to finalise the plan. This detail was corroborated through CCTV footage.
Police traced the accused’s movements through extensive CCTV analysis. The suspects entered the house around 11.30 pm and exited around 1.30 am. Cameras showed them walking towards the Phase 5 chowk then moving on foot to the Chandigarh border near the furniture market crossing, where they hired an auto-rickshaw.
Further footage showed the auto dropping them at the Chandigarh Railway Station. The suspects were later seen inside the station and were believed to have boarded a train towards Kanpur.
Two police teams were sent to Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh, where one of the main accused, Rahul, was arrested during a raid.
Confirming the arrest, SSP Harmandeep Hans said, “The arrest is the result of sustained surveillance, technical analysis and inter-state coordination. Our teams worked continuously to ensure the accused was traced and apprehended.”
SP (City) Dilpreet Singh said police had to track the suspects across several locations. “The accused kept changing trains and routes to evade arrest, but our teams followed multiple trails and managed to intercept him. He is being brought to Mohali and more facts will be revealed once we get him here,” he said. Police said further investigation is underway, and more arrests are likely.
