Who was Hemant K Lohia, J&K DG-Prisons found murdered at his home?

57-year-old Lohia, a 1992 batch IPS officer, was found dead with burn injuries on his body and his throat slit on the outskirts of Jammu. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh described it as an 'extremely unfortunate' incident and said a manhunt had been launched to nab his domestic help, who is absconding.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General (Prisons) Hemant K. Lohia was found murdered at his residence in Jammu on Monday night with police suspecting his domestic help as the main culprit.

Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police, described the incident as "very unfortunate," and said a manhunt had been initiated to apprehend his domestic helper, Jasir, who is still missing. According to Singh, the suspect even attempted to set fire to the body of 57-year-old Lohia, who was promoted and appointed as the Union Territory's Director General of Prisons in August.

Who was Hemant K Lohia?

Hemant K Lohia was an IPS officer from the 1992 batch. He was the Director General of Prisons in Jammu and Kashmir. He was 57 years old at the time. In August, HK Lohia was elevated as Director General of Prisons in the Union Territory.

He had an excellent three-decade career. He once put a stop to a suicide assault in Srinagar's Lal Chowk. Before being selected as the prison's director general, he participated in a number of anti-terror operations. Lohia was born on January 17, 1965.  His father's name was Shyam Sundar Lohia. He studied law before joining the Indian Police Service.  He was also the commandant of the SDRF.

The police suspect that Yasir, his domestic help, is involved in the murder. He is absconding. According to preliminary investigation, Lohia had been putting some type of oil to his sore foot before being attacked. The killer strangled Lohia to death, sliced his neck with a shattered bottle, and then set fire to his body. 

The guards stationed at the officer’s residence observed fire in Lohia’s room. He explained that they had to break open the door because it was locked from the inside. The ADGP said the preliminary investigation of the crime scene points to murder. The police are searching for the man, a resident of Ramban.  Though it isn't clear why he was murdered, the police haven't ruled out the terror angle.