Aditya Sachdeva murder: Rocky Yadav claims innocence while cops say he confessed

Janata Dal-United legislator Manorama Devi’s son Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav was arrested on Tuesday from a house in Bodh Gaya on the charge of murdering teenager Aditya Sachdev. He was later sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Gaya court, police said. Chief judicial magistrate in-charge, Sanjay Kumar Jha sent Rocky to judicial custody when he was produced by the police and was later taken to Gaya central jail. Gaya Senior Superintendent of Police Garima Mallik said that Rocky had confessed to the fatal shooting of businessman’s son Aditya on Saturday night for overtaking his car on the Bodh Gaya-Gaya road. [caption id=“attachment_2774852” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rocky Yadav. Image courtesy News18.[/caption] Rocky was arrested with the pistol used in the crime, she said. The licence for the pistol was issued in Delhi. However, Rocky told reporters that he was innocent of the crime, insisting he was in Delhi when the crime took place in Gaya. “I was in Delhi…when my mother called me I came and presented myself before the SSP… I did not open fire,” he said while being whisked away by the police following Mallik’s press conference. “I’ll tell everything in the court,” he said. Rocky, who went missing since the incident on Saturday, was arrested from his father’s mixer plant in Gaya district earlier in the day. His father Bindi Yadav and Manorama Devi’s bodyguard and police security personnel Rajesh Kumar, who were arrested on Sunday for allegedly helping Rocky to escape and was sent to 14 days judicial custody on Monday, are also lodged in the same jail. Bihar JD-U president Vashisht Narain Singh told the media that the party had suspended its legislator Manorama Devi after some liquor bottles were seized from her house during a police raid on Monday night during a search for her son. Mallik said a separate case will be filed on charge of violation of the liquor ban in Bihar. With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserting that no guilty will be spared, police promised to file a chargesheet within a month. Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Sunil Kumar said: “SSP Gaya has been directed to ensure a speedy trial in the case. The investigation is still on and it will be completed within three weeks and a chargesheet will be filed within a month.” When pointed out that Yadav denied opening fire, the ADGP said, “No accused confesses that he has committed crime. Let him say whatever he is saying. He will get opportunity during trial.” He added, “As far as the police are concerned, we have enough evidence to prove his guilt in the case. We have circumstantial evidence, scientific evidence, weapon and vehicle used in the crime, statements of witnesses under 164 of CrPC,” he said. Rocky’s father Bindi Yadav is a criminal-turned-politician. According to The Times of India, he was a once-dreaded don who has been accused in about two dozen serious criminal cases including those involving murder, kidnapping, dacoity and house-grabbing. An article in DailyO stated that Bindi had been slapped with sedition charge in 2011 for storing 6,000 rounds of assault rifle bullets and giving them to Maoists. After the news about his son’s alleged crime spread throughout the country, Bindi Yadav had also claimed that Rocky had fired from his pistol “by mistake”. Eye-witnesses, though, contradicted this claim and explained how Rocky Yadav had threatened them just because their car had overtaken his. Aditya’s parents Keshav Chand Sachdeva and Chanda demanded a speedy trial to ensure justice. Aditya’s elder brother Lalji told The Indian Express, “Everyone knows my brother was killed by Bindi Yadav’s son. It is a pure case of road rage.” With inputs from agencies