2 minors among 4 held for ex-cop's murder

INDORE: More than a year after the murder of retired police officer Arjun Singh Parihar, city police on Sunday cracked the mystery with the arrest of the four accused, including two minors, in the case.
They were arrested in connection with a recent theft carried out by them in Sanyogitaganj area and during intense interrogation spilled the beans that they had a hand in the murder.Police have recovered a stolen mobile phone, Parihar's wrist watch, jewellery and documents.
Apart from this, they also stole more than two dozen mobile phones over several thefts committed by them. The two adults involved in the murder were Farooq alias Ajju, resident of Sanawad town in Khargone district and Aafreen, resident of Burhanpur district. They had attacked Parihar after finding him alone at home. They had slipped into his residence while out on one of their robberies. The accused in the past had committed nearly a dozen crimes in Bhanwarkuan, Palasia, Juni Indore and Azad Nagar area.
Holding a press conference, DIG Santosh Kumar said, "The accused are notorious criminals and have a history of crimes. Various cases are registered against them at different police stations. We formed a team to crack the case. Since they understood the retired officer's daily routine, we concluded that it was done by someone with a motive of theft."
Parihar, who was 78 years old, was found murdered in his house in Vishnupuri locality on May 28 last year. Indore DIG Santosh Singh had constituted a team to probe the matter. A reward of Rs 10,000 was announced on the arrest of the accused by then SP West.
The incident came to light when Parihar's wife Kusum, who is the warden of a girl's hostel, returne and found the doors to two rooms broken and house completely ransacked. Thereafter, she spotted her husband lying dead in his room at around 10pm that day. Parihar's mobile phone had been missing since then, but it was recovered from the them after their arrest.
Parihar's murder was the second sensational killing of a senior citizen. He had served as inspector in various districts before retiring 21 years ago.