Karnaprayag police has solved a case of the mysterious blind murder of a person whose dead body was found on the bank of river Alaknanda and arrested the accused murderer
The Karnaprayag police has solved a case of the mysterious blind murder of a person whose dead body was found on the bank of river Alaknanda and arrested the accused murderer. The Suprintendent of Police Chamoli Garhwal district Surjit Singh Panwar under whose capable and dextrous leadership this mysteriousccase was solved has disclosed that the SIT and SOG team’s dextrous technical and scientific probe led by him resulted in the exposure of this sensational murder.
On March 10, 2026, police received information that an unidentified body had been found lying on the banks of the Alaknanda River, below the Chandika Mata Temple in the Langasu area. The police team arriving at the scene found the deceased’s hands and feet tied with plastic rope, making the case appear prima facie to be a case of murder. “SOORAJ PUROHIT” was written in English on the deceased’s right hand, but due to the lack of any official documents, immediate identification was impossible.
Following this, the police completed the Panchayatnama proceedings on the spot. Furthermore, the field unit team took fingerprints from the deceased’s hands to establish his identity. After 72 hours of attempts to identify him, a post-mortem was conducted as per the rules and the body was cremated according to Hindu rites.
In this connection, a person with the aforementioned name is connected to the village WhatsApp group in Bamoth village, located opposite Gauchar. Surveillance was then conducted based on the mobile number obtained, and his last location was found to be in the Nandprayag area. Thus, by connecting the various links, the police team moved the investigation in the right direction.
A new twist in the murder case came on March 23rd when the deceased’s wife, Manju Devi, identified the body as that of her husband, Suraj Purohit, after seeing photographs circulating on social media.
The family members told that Suraj had suddenly gone missing since February 15. On 24/03/2026, on the basis of the complaint given by the wife of the deceased Suraj Purohit, Mrs. Manju Devi, FIR No. 13/2026, Section 103(1) BNS vs Unknown was registered in Kotwali Karnaprayag. Considering the seriousness of the case, Superintendent of Police Chamoli Surjeet Singh Panwar immediately formed a joint team of SIT and SOG under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Karnaprayag Trivendra Singh Rana and gave instructions to collect scientific evidence.
During the investigation, it came to light that the deceased, Suraj Purohit, was staying at the Nandakini Hotel in Nandprayag and was working at the Madhuban Dhaba through Narendra Topal. During interrogation, Narendra Topal initially stated that Suraj had left the job on February 15, 2026, but upon gathering information locally, it was revealed that he had borrowed ₹10,000 from the deceased.
The police team thoroughly examined CCTV cameras in the Nandprayag area.
Due to the passage of time since the incident, most of the footage was not available, however, through tireless efforts, some important footage was obtained. In these footage, on the night of 16/02/2026, Narendra Topal was seen carrying the dead body of the deceased in a plastic bag in the trunk of his Alto car (UK12A 3212) towards Jhulabagd bridge and after some time, he was also seen returning and washing the vehicle.
On the basis of the above evidence, when Narendra Topal was strictly interrogated, he confessed his crime.
He stated that on February 16, 2026, he murdered Suraj Purohit, tied his hands and feet, and threw the body into the Alaknanda River from the Jhulabagad Bridge on Saikot Road at night. He also threw the deceased’s mobile phone and other belongings into the river to conceal evidence.
When asked about the reason for the murder, Narendra Topal stated that he is a socially respected individual and currently serves as the Sartoli Area Panchayat Member. He had borrowed ₹10,000 from the deceased Suraj Purohit in January.
According to her, Suraj Purohit used to drink alcohol and, when intoxicated, would verbally abuse her in public and repeatedly insult her about the debt.
By solving this nearly month-old blind murder case, the Karnaprayag police have demonstrated their ingenuity, technical investigation, and persistent efforts. The accused has been arrested and legal action is being taken.
The FSL team also collected crucial evidence from his vehicle and preserved necessary samples, which were sent for scientific examination.
The Additional Director General of Police (Crime and Law and Order) praised the excellent work of the police team and described this discovery as a prime example of police promptness and professionalism.
Furthermore, upon the successful discovery of the case, the Inspector General of Police, Garhwal Range, commended the police team for their excellent work and awarded them a reward of ₹5,000 as an encouragement.
Recoveries:
1. The car used in the incident, Alto UK12A-3212.
2. The rope used to bind the accused’s hands and feet.
Name and address of the accused: Narendra Singh Topal, son of Bhola Singh, resident of Dharkot village, Chamoli police station and district, age 47.
Police Team
Police Team
1. Inspector in-charge, Mr. Vinod Thapliyal, Karnaprayag police station.
2. Senior Sub-Inspector, Sanjay Negi, Karnaprayag police station.
3. Sub-Inspector, Devendra Pant, Station House Officer, Pokhari.
4. Sub-Inspector, Manvendra Singh Gusain, Outpost in-charge, Gauchar.
5. Sub-Inspector, Amandeep Singh, Outpost in-charge, Langasu.
6. Sub-Inspector, Satendra Butola, and the Special Operations Group (SOG) team.
7. HE Devendra Bisht
8. HE Pradeep Bahukhandi
9. Mr. Satish Gusain
10. Driver Santosh Chauha
