A 32-year-old man died under suspicious circumstances while staying at his aunt's house in Chauhar Ghati in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, and police have registered a murder case naming three men as accused. The case has come to light after Ajay's body was found near a roadside dhaba in Gwali, following which his father approached police with a complaint against the trio.
What happened
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar, a resident of Ropa, who had been living in Mandi town for a long time while preparing for competitive exams. On the day of the incident, Ajay had bathed in the Himri Ganga before staying over at his aunt's house in Gwali. Chauhar Ghati falls within Mandi district, an area where Ajay had deep family ties through his aunt. Within a matter of hours, the situation turned fatal.
The three men named in the father's complaint
Ajay's father, Sher Singh, filed a police complaint accusing three men of killing his son. Based on that complaint, police registered a murder case and named Sahil, a resident of Nauhli in Padhar; Naveen Kumar, a resident of Chamah; and Aditya Thakur, a resident of Katipari in Padhar, as the accused. According to the complaint, on the night of September 5, an argument broke out between Ajay and the three men near the Gwali dhaba. A short while after the argument, Ajay was found lying unconscious by the roadside.
Rushed to hospital, declared dead on arrival
Locals rushed Ajay to Padhar Hospital for treatment. Seeing his critical condition, the doctor on duty referred him to Zonal Hospital in Mandi. However, by the time he reached the hospital, doctors declared him dead.
Police investigation, postmortem report awaited
SP Mandi Vinod Kumar said the postmortem of the deceased was conducted at Nerchowk Medical College. He said the investigation is being taken forward while examining every aspect linked to the incident. A postmortem report typically establishes whether injuries or another cause led to death, which is why it is being treated as central to deciding what happens next in the case. According to police, the exact cause of death will only become clear once the postmortem report is available, and further legal action will be decided based on that report. The probe against all three named accused remains underway.
Part of a string of recent incidents in Himachal
The incident has come at a time when questions are being raised over law and order in Himachal Pradesh. Last Friday, a young man from Kalka was killed in Solan district. Before that, in Churah in Chamba district, a young man was killed and his body thrown into a gorge. These back-to-back incidents, from Chauhar Ghati to Solan and Chamba, have all involved young men losing their lives within the span of about a week, intensifying scrutiny of policing in the hill state.
