On 25th December, a woman from Rajasthan’s Bikaner was brutally murdered by one Sameer Khan. The accused was employed as a driver to the victim who was a former Congress councillor. Khan slit the throat of the woman and later attempted to commit suicide. However, later it was revealed that the accused pretended to commit suicide immediately after the murder to escape from the police action.
This case is of Naya Shahar police station area of Bikaner. Former councillor Lakshmi Purohit owned a beauty parlour near her house. According to media reports, Lakshmi had left the house on Monday (25th December) evening saying that she was going to the temple but did not return. At around 10 pm, the woman’s husband Rajesh Purohit lodged a missing report in the police station.
In the meantime, the body of the woman was discovered on Ganganagar Road. Rajesh Purohit was summoned by police to identify the woman. The body was later identified as that to be of Lakshmi.
Rajesh Purohit, the husband of the deceased woman registered a complaint in the case and mentioned Sameer Khan as a suspect. Purohit stated that Khan used to keep a watch on Lakshmi and that he wanted to marry the woman.
Police investigation revealed that Sameer Khan already knew 47-year-old Lakshmi, as he had worked as her driver 6 years ago. Rajesh Purohit, Lakshmi’s husband, works for the government in the education department. He purchased a car six years ago and hired Sameer Khan as his driver. At first, everything was fine, but later complaints about his misbehaviour started to emerge, and he started to harass Lakshmi Purohit. As a result, he was fired from the job a few years ago.
However, Sameer Khan then started to harass the family and used to threaten them. He used to visit their house and misbehave with them. He also used to call Rajesh Purohit to threaten that he would abduct his wife.
Rajesh said that on Monday evening, his wife left the house saying that she was going to the temple. But when she didn’t return after an hour, he started to have concerns. When he called her, he found that her phone was switched off. Then he started to look for her in the nearby areas including the temple, and enquired with relatives. When she was not found, he approached the police station to register a complaint.
Rajesh Purohit alleged that Sameer Khan kidnapped his wife, as he was continuously harassing them, and had threatened several times that he would abduct Lakshmi.
During the police probe, it was found that Sameer had called Lakshmi to Urmul Circle, where they had arguments over some issue. After this, he took Lakshmi to a desolate place RCP Colony. It is believed that he committed the murder at the same place and then threw the dead body.
SM Tejashwini Gautam said that Sameer has confessed to several things during the interrogation. He believed that Lakshmi would marry him, and the argument was over this issue. When he found that she had no intention of marrying him, he slit her throat. He assaulted her with such force that the wound was 2 inches deep. The murder took place between 8 to 9 pm, as per police.
Sameer Khan fled the scene after slitting the throat of Lakshmi, and tried to commit suicide. He then reached the PBS hospital with injuries in his hand and head. However, he started a commotion at the hospital due to a delay in treatment. When police reached the hospital as a result, he narrated a false story, claiming that he was hit by a train. But when police didn’t find any report of a train hit, they took him into custody and interrogated him.
Police said that he is still being questioned, and the murder weapon is yet to be recovered.
Lakshmi Purohit and her husband Rajesh Purohit are natives of Nagaur, Rajasthan. According to the report, while living in Nagaur, Lakshmi headed the city council elections on a Congress ticket and won the councillor election. Lakshmi and her husband then moved to Bikaner. Lakshmi’s political career had nearly ended when she arrived in Bikaner from Nagaur.