A 40-year-old labourer from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly strangled to death by his co-worker following a dispute over a demand for “unnatural sex” at a brick kiln in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Bholeram Chauhan, a native of Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by Dholka Rural police on November 3.

The deceased, Pawan Kumar alias Commander, was from Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh and had travelled to Gujarat with other labourers to work at the brick kiln.

The incident took place between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on November 1 near a canal on the outskirts of Mandanpura village in Dholka taluka.

According to police, the two labourers had left the kiln during dinner, saying they were going to fetch something, but did not return for a long time. The labourers’ supervisor subsequently went looking for them.

While heading towards the canal, he encountered Bholeram coming from the opposite direction. During questioning, the accused allegedly told him that Pawan Kumar had demanded unnatural sex, leading to an argument and a physical altercation between the two.

Bholeram allegedly strangled Pawan Kumar using the belt of his trousers. The supervisor took the accused towards the canal, where Pawan Kumar’s body was found near the boundary of an agricultural field.

He subsequently brought Bholeram back to the brick kiln and informed the owner, who alerted the police. Pawan Kumar had arrived at the brick kiln with other workers on the afternoon of November 1.

The group had spent the afternoon constructing a room for their accommodation. “The workers were preparing to have dinner when Pawan Kumar and Bholeram left the premises,” officials said.

The deceased’s elder brother lodged a complaint at Dholka Rural Police Station on November 2, following which a murder case was registered under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

An official told media, “During questioning on November 3, Bholeram confessed to the crime. He was arrested at 5:30 p.m., and police initiated the process to seek his remand.”

The body was sent to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Further investigation is underway.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Nitin Nabin led the party’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ march against the Congress party.

Nabin visited Gorakhpur for the first time after taking over the party’s top post and formally launched the campaign at a public meeting held at Maharana Pratap Inter College in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary and other senior party leaders.

The party claimed that a large number of workers, office-bearers and supporters from all 12 districts of the Gorakh region participated in the march. The visit also marked Nitin Nabin’s maiden tour of Gorakhpur as the BJP national president. He arrived at Gorakhpur airport from Delhi, where he was received by Chief Minister Adityanath, before proceeding to the Circuit House and later attending the public rally.

The event witnessed participation of members of the minority community carrying placards bearing the slogan “Modi Hai, Modi Rahega”. Leaders and workers from BJP allies, including the Nishad Party, also took part in the programme.

Addressing the gathering, BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary launched a sharp attack on Congress, saying the party needed serious introspection. He claimed that in MLC elections conducted through ballot papers, Congress managed to win only one of the 28 seats across the country. He further noted that the party has remained out of power in Uttar Pradesh for 37 years, Tamil Nadu for 59 years, Bihar for 36 years and Gujarat for 31 years.

Chaudhary said the campaign was aimed at protecting democracy, eliminating anarchy and exposing conspiracies against the country. He alleged that opposition parties question EVMs and constitutional institutions after losing elections in an attempt to discredit them. He also accused certain groups of misleading young people into protests in Delhi, claiming that some participants had spoken of regime change while a woman leader had referred to being inspired by developments in Bangladesh.

Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan also targeted the opposition, describing the padyatra as a movement against anti-national forces and the so-called “tukde-tukde gang”.

He alleged that such elements wanted to see communal unrest and bomb blasts at temples return to the country.

Taking aim at Rahul Gandhi, he said the Congress leader was still “unable to accept Narendra Modi’s position as Prime Minister”. He further claimed that Congress does not question the electoral process when it wins elections but raises doubts when it loses.

Nishad Party national president Dr Sanjay Nishad alleged that certain forces were trying to destabilise India and mislead people by creating disorder. He asserted that there was no place in the country for such elements.

The North District Police arrested six people in connection with a robbery of Rs 70 lakh near the Gulabi Bagh Underpass in Delhi’s Roop Nagar area and recovered Rs 30.23 lakh in cash, a motorcycle and other items.

According to the police, the robbery took place on October 24 when the complainant was returning to Mayapuri on his scooty after collecting Rs 70 lakh in cash from Kucha Ghasi Ram in Chandni Chowk, on his employer’s instructions.

After collecting and counting the money, he placed it in a black backpack and kept it on the front footrest of his scooty. At around 9.30 p.m., when he reached D.N. Road near the Gulabi Bagh Underpass and Roshanara Park, three unidentified men on a motorcycle approached him from behind and blocked his way.

One of the accused threw chilli powder into his eyes, while the other two assaulted him. The trio then snatched the backpack containing Rs 70 lakh and fled. Following the incident, an FIR was registered at Roop Nagar police station on October 26 under Sections 309(6) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A joint team of the Roop Nagar police station and Special Staff of the North District was constituted to investigate the case. The initial breakthrough came from CCTV footage obtained from Kucha Mahajani in Chandni Chowk, which showed two Apache motorcycles following the complainant’s scooty as he left the area.

The police identified the registration numbers of both motorcycles. Further technical surveillance and analysis of Call Detail Records (CDRs) helped identify the suspects. Subsequently, coordinated raids were conducted in Delhi, Rajasthan and Bihar.

The six arrested accused were identified as Chandan Kumar (20), Sushobhan alias Sonu (28), Manish Kumar alias Vicky (21), Yogesh Kumar (30), Seetu (31) and Mantu Yadav (25). They are residents of Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand.

On October 29, the police arrested Yogesh Kumar from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and recovered Rs 1,53,500 from his possession. On the same day, another accused, Seetu, was arrested from his residence in Burari, Delhi, with Rs 11.80 lakh in cash.

On October 30, three more accused, Chandan Kumar, Sushobhan alias Sonu and Manish Kumar alias Vicky were arrested during raids in Bihar. The police recovered Rs 50 lakh from Chandan, Rs 1 lakh from Sushobhan and Rs 5.29 lakh from Manish.

During further interrogation of Yogesh and Seetu, the police received information that led to the arrest of the mastermind, Mantu Yadav, on October 31 from Fatak Barwalan in Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk. At his instance, a black bag containing Rs 8.10 lakh was recovered from his residence. Three debit cards and a PAN card, all bearing his name, were also found in the bag.

According to the police, Mantu played a key role in planning and coordinating the robbery. While working as a cleaner at a shop in Kucha Mahajani, he became familiar with the movement of people carrying large amounts of cash from the area. He allegedly brought the other accused together and, with the assistance of his associate Vakil, shared information about potential targets.

During interrogation, Mantu disclosed that he had deposited Rs 3.01 lakh from his share of the robbed money into different bank accounts. These included his Punjab National Bank and Bank of India accounts, as well as accounts belonging to his mother and sister. The police are verifying the deposits through bank records.

The police said Seetu has six previous involvements in robbery cases. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to verify the identities and roles of two other suspects, Pawan and Vakil, and apprehend them.