Raipur Police arrested a 35-year-old man who was accused as the mastermind in the murder of a Chhattisgarh ex-minister’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter on Friday. Two persons were arrested earlier.
Ajay Rai (35), a resident of the Saddu locality in Raipur, was caught in Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh and brought to Raipur, the police said.
Senior Superintendent of Raipur police Ajay Kumar Yadav said, "The accused had been at large since the bodies of Neha Dhritlahre (30) and her daughter Ananya (9) had been found in a box of the wooden bed in a room of their house in Shankar Nagar in Raipur a week ago."
Neha was the wife of Tarun Dhritlahre, the son of the late D.P. Dhritlahre, who was a Minister in the Ajit Jogi-led Congress government in 2000-03.
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On Sunday, police lodged the murder case after receiving a complaint from Neha’s relatives.
The police took into custody Dr. Anand Rai, a relative of the former Minister and his accomplice Deepak Saytode. Both Dr Rai and Ajay Rai are brothers-in-law of Neha's husband.
Meanwhile, the police were tipped off that Ajay Rai was hiding in Uttar Pradesh. After studying his phone locations, he was caught in Kumarganj town in Ayodhya district.
Police seized his car which was parked at the Bilaspur railway station before leaving for Uttar Pradesh.
A court ordered police custody of the absconding man, on Friday.
