
In a disturbing case, a contract killer hired to murder a woman's own son instead killed the woman herself and escaped with cash and gold. The accused, Ajay Mishra, has now been arrested after remaining on the run for nearly five years. He was caught by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch from the Naroda area, solving a 2021 murder and robbery case from Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Police said the case began with a serious property dispute within a family. Shakuntala Yadav and her younger son Amit Yadav allegedly planned to get rid of her elder son, according to a report by India Today.
They reportedly hired Ajay Mishra, who worked as a hospital security guard and was known to them. A deal of ₹4 lakh was agreed, and ₹1 lakh was paid in advance.
However, Mishra did not carry out the plan. Instead, he returned to his village without completing the job. When Shakuntala and Amit later found Mishra and asked for their money back, he assured them he would return it. But months later, he came back with a different plan.
According to police, Mishra, along with his associate Ketan Tiwari, went to Shakuntala’s house when she was alone. Instead of returning the money, they decided to target her.
The accused allegedly strangled Shakuntala using a rope. After killing her, they stole around ₹10 lakh in cash and 350 to 450 grams of gold jewellery from the house.
Police said the stolen gold was later sold off. The crime shocked the local community due to its cruel and unexpected nature.
After the murder, Mishra went into hiding. He stopped using his mobile phone and avoided official identity documents like PAN and Aadhaar cards to escape detection. He kept moving between places before finally settling in Ahmedabad’s Naroda area in 2022, where he lived quietly.
After fresh leads and continued efforts, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch tracked Mishra and arrested him. Police said the arrest has finally brought some closure to the case.
Officials added that further investigation is ongoing, and efforts are being made to locate and take action against other accused persons involved.
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