Relatives of Navy soldier claim conspiracy, demand CBI investigation

The family members of the Navy jawan who was kidnapped from Chennai on January 30 and later killed, have demanded a CBI investigation be conducted in the matter. The Navy officer was abducted in Chennai on January 30 was set on fire by the kidnappers in jungles of Maharashtra's Palghar district. He later succumbed burn injuries.

Palamu (Jharkhand): The family of Suraj Kumar Dubey, the naval officer who was killed in Maharashtra's Palgarh, has claimed that there is a conspiracy behind the incident and demanded an investigation by the CBI.

The 26-year-old Navy sailor, Suraj Kumar Dubey, who had been abducted in Chennai on January 30 was set on fire by the kidnappers in jungles of Maharashtra's Palghar district and he succumbed to burn injuries, the police said on Saturday.

Dubey, who hailed from Ranchi, was posted at INS Agrani near Coimbatore, said Palghar district police spokesperson Sachin Navadkar.

The father of the Navy official has sought justice for his son. "I want justice for my son. That's the message I want to get across via media. He gave a statement before dying that he was kidnapped and imprisoned for three days, being made an object of ransom. He was then brought to Palghar and burnt to death," said Mithilesh Dubey, father of Suraj Kumar Dubey.

According to police, Dubey was abducted by three people from Chennai Airport who were demanding 10 lakh rupees from the victim. Failing to secure the amount, the kidnappers poured petrol over him and torched him alive on February 5. Dubey, who later succumbed to his injuries, had provided a dying declaration to the police.

However, Palghar police have claimed to have unearthed some new information during their investigation. According to police, the victim's two cell phones were switched off after the alleged kidnapped. He, according to the police, till recently he used a third cell phone to carry out share market transactions.

Police have claimed that the officer was heavy debt and had borrowed money from his friends to invest in the share market. They further said the victim had close to nine lakh rupees in his account around 15th January but now the account has zero balance.

Palgarh Police has formed 10 teams to investigate the case with around 100 police officers and personnel working on various levels.

A Navy spokesperson said that Dubey was on leave when he was abducted and found in Palghar with 90 per cent burns on Friday morning. He was brought to INHS Asvini — the Navy hospital — but was declared dead on arrival. A case of murder under section 302 of IPC and other relevant sections have been registered against the unidentified trio and probe is underway, the district police spokesperson said.