SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police investigators have traced the CCTV footage showing the main accused running away, apparently after committing the crime on October 3, 2022.
Identified as Yasir Ahmad, a resident of Ramban, he was engaged as domestic help for last six months.
“Initial investigation reveals that he was aggressive in his behaviour and was under depression,” Chandigarh newspaper The Tribune reported. “The weapon has been seized besides some documentary evidence showing the accused’s mental state.”
ADGP Jammu, Mukesh Singh was quoted saying: “It has come to the fore that one domestic helper Yasir Ahmed is the main accused. Initial investigation reveals that he was quite aggressive in his behaviour and was also under depression as per sources.”
The crime, police have already suggested, lacks any terror angle.
Lohia, 57, a senior IPS officer who took over as DG Prisons only on August 3, 2022, was not living in his own official residence in Jammu. It was under repairs. So, he had shifted to the residence of his family friend – Sanjeev Khajuria, a resident of Rajouri who runs an NGO and is living in Jammu. He basically was from Assam.
Reports appearing in the media suggest that the killer seemingly suffocated the senior officer and later slit his throat – reportedly using a broken ketchup bottle – and attempted to set him afire. It was the fire that attracted the attention of the cops guarding the residence. They had to rush and break open the room – it was locked from inside – to see the state of the officer they were guarding.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the officer was attacked when he was applying some kind of oil on his swollen foot.
A 1992 batch IPS officer, Lohia was on central deputation for a long time. He returned to Jammu and Kashmir in February 2022.
