The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the August 26 murder of college student Ishita Mallick has made a significant breakthrough with the arrest of Raghavendra Pratap Singh, a BSF personnel and the father of the prime accused, Deshraj Singh. Singh stands accused of aiding his son’s escape to Uttar Pradesh.
According to a senior officer, Raghavendra was apprehended late Saturday night at the BSF’s 20th Battalion camp in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and is being brought to Krishnanagar on a transit remand. He allegedly helped Deshraj book a hotel room in Ayodhya under his name and transferred Rs22,000 through the hotel manager’s account before arranging further assistance via phone calls from Ids that were reported stolen.
Deshraj, who fled West Bengal following the murder, was caught near the India–Nepal border after being traced by his maternal uncle, Kuldeep Singh, who had been arrested earlier for assisting the escape. The uncle’s cooperation led to Deshraj’s arrest in Nautanwa, Uttar Pradesh.
A case has been registered, and a Test Identification (TI) parade has been scheduled. The victim’s family has already identified Deshraj and is demanding capital punishment. The murder was premeditated and fueled by possessive anger, as indicated by despicable posts by Deshraj—like a chilling image of himself holding a pistol with the caption “Dead body soon.”
