Skeletal remains of constable found seven months after he went missing

The head constable has been identified as Jivabhai Patel (50) from the Bapunagar police station. He had gone missing from Hardasnagar in the Bapunagar area on July 27,a day after serial blasts rocked Ahmedabad. Patel was posted at Hardasnagar on routine bandobast that day. His family had lodged a missing complaint with the Bapungar police.

Patel’s son,Amit who is an undergraduate student,said: “We have been searching for him at different places since July 27 last year. We had lodged a missing complaint with the Bapunagar police in this regard.”

The remains were discovered behind a temple on the outskirts of Gamdi village,four kms from Aslali. Some villagers had spotted the skeleton and informed the sarpanch,who in turn informed the Aslali police.

A uniform of the Ahmedabad police bearing Jivabhai Patel’s nameplate was recovered from the spot. Patel’s identity card was found in the pocket of the uniform.

The remains have now been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for further investigation. The police have registered a case of accidental death.

DySP B R Rana,who is supervising the investigation,said: “Primarily,the skeleton seems to be that of Jivabhai Patel. His son has also identified the shoes of the deceased and confirmed that they belonged to his father. But we want to get the expert opinion of the FSL to establish the identity of the deceased based on a DNA test,and also to ascertain the cause of death.”

He added: “We have started investigations considering that the remains are of Patel. We are investigating how it reached the spot in the bushes. We are also looking at the case as a suspected murder.”Amit and his mother have not named anyone as suspect behind Patel’s death.