An Indian Army officer posted in Assam’s Tezpur has confessed to the murder of a woman, said Assam Police on Saturday.
The officer has been identified as Lieutenant Colonel Amrinder Singh Walia, posted as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of IV Corps headquartered in Assam’s Tezpur.
The Assam Police said Walia has confessed to murdering his ‘girlfriend’ whose body was found by police in Changsari of Kamrup district wrapped in plastic along the National Highway 31 on February 15. The deceased woman was identified as 36-year-old Vandanashree.
Walia was arrested on Friday, 10 days after the incident. The deceased woman was a native of Chennai.
The woman was traveling to Varanasi from Chennai and then to Delhi. She took a train from Delhi to Guwahati to meet Walia on Feb 14, according to Hitesh Chandra Roy, Superintendent of Police of Kamrup district.
Roy told Outlook, “Enough evidence is there about Walia’s involvement in the crime and he has already confessed to it. He came to pick her up from the Guwahati Railway Station in Paltan Bazaar. The night after which the body was found the next day, they were traveling together to Tezpur via Changsari. More details will be out as the investigation proceeds.”
Roy said the four-year-old daughter of the victim was also recovered from Howrah in West Bengal. He said Walia had kept the child with him till February 21.
He added, “The girl has been recovered by Howrah Police and has been sent to our custody. The other family members are also here. The victim knew Walia for a long time and they were in a relationship.”
On February 15, the same day the body was found, Assam Police had posted the image on social media for identification. From the locket that she was wearing, police ascertained that she was from South India.
The Indian Army is yet to give a statement in the case. Walia was produced in the court on Saturday morning.
