Missing man found as skeleton; friend killed him, took loan on stolen gold
A missing man's search in Madhya Pradesh ended with a skeleton in a pit, a shocking betrayal by a friend and a chilling gold finance trail that exposed the murder mystery.
A gruesome murder in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district has shocked locals after the skeleton of a man missing for 10 days was recovered from a pit in a forest area, with police alleging that his friend killed him, buried the body and later pledged his gold jewellery for a loan.
The victim, identified as Golu Valmiki, had gone missing from the Malawar area nearly 10 days ago. On Wednesday, police arrested accused Raghuveer Soundhiya and recovered Golu’s skeletal remains based on his confession.
Investigators said the accused murdered Golu before hiding the body in a pit to prevent anyone from finding it. In a chilling twist, police also found that after the killing, Raghuveer allegedly removed the gold murki (ear rings) worn by the victim and pledged it at AU Bank to secure nearly Rs 40,000 through gold finance.
ACCUSED JOINED SEARCH FOR VICTIM
The case took an even darker turn after family members revealed that on the day of the murder, the accused himself had come looking for Golu at his house.
According to the family, Raghuveer Soundhiya, a resident of nearby Malwari village, arrived at their home and asked, “Has Golu gone to graze goats?”
When the family told him that Golu had gone towards the grazing fields, Raghuveer also headed in the same direction where the victim regularly took his goats.
But by afternoon, Golu had still not returned home.
His family repeatedly tried calling him, but there was no response. Worried relatives later reached the grazing spot and found the goats abandoned there, but Golu had vanished without a trace.
After an extensive search failed to find him, the family informed police and repeatedly expressed suspicion against Raghuveer Soundhiya.
FAMILY ALLEGES POLICE IGNORED WARNING
The victim’s family alleged that despite repeatedly naming Raghuveer, police initially failed to act seriously and released him after questioning.
According to relatives, no major action was taken despite continuous appeals. Eight days later, the family approached the Chief Minister Helpline seeking intervention.
Only after senior officers stepped in did the investigation gather pace.
Police again detained Raghuveer and questioned him aggressively. During interrogation, he allegedly broke down and confessed to the murder.
SKELETON RECOVERED FROM PIT
Acting on the accused’s confession, police reached the forest area and recovered Golu’s skeleton from a pit where the body had allegedly been dumped after the murder.
Blood-stained clothes belonging to the victim were also recovered from the spot.
Investigators later discovered that the accused had removed the gold jewellery from Golu’s ears after the killing and pledged it at AU Bank for around Rs 40,000.
Police are continuing further interrogation to establish the exact sequence of events and whether anyone else was involved in the crime.
The recovered skeletal remains have been sent to Bhopal for post-mortem examination.
The incident has triggered outrage across the area, while Golu’s grieving family members remain inconsolable.