Shambhu Lal was arrested within a day after the video showing him hacking a man to death went viral.
More than a month after the shocking murder of a migrant labourer in Rajasthan by an assailant who filmed and circulated it, ranting all the while about love jihad, the police have filed a chargesheet against Shambhu Lal Raigar. But the 413-page chargesheet said it was a cover-up for a murder over love, intrigue and betrayal. Mohammad Afrajul, a labour contractor, was targeted only because the man Shambhu Lal had a grouse against was not at hand. Ballu Sheikh was Shambhu Lal's rival in love. He was also an employee of Mohammad Afrajul.
The chargesheet, which has listed 68 witnesses, says Shambhu Lal was involved with a woman, Puja, since 2010. At the time, she was only 13 years old. The girl's mother worked as a construction labourer and the teen later became involved with a construction worker , Ballu Sheikh, who came to the house frequently.
Puja told the police that she eloped with Ballu Sheikh while she was still a minor. The two went to Bengal, but she was brought back by the police after her mother lodged a complaint. She, however, managed to return to Bengal and started living with Ballu Sheikh. This continued for nearly four years, during which she was in touch with Shambhu Lal. The two often spoke on telephone.
In 2015, Shambhu Lal went to Bengal to bring Puja back. He told her mother that she was being mistreated by Ballu Sheikh. But Puja refused to return. But 15 days later, Puja left left Ballu Sheikh on her own and returned to Rajasthan and resumed her relationship with Shambhu Lal.
Puja's mother said she had "refused to accept Puja". When the woman arrived in Rajasamand, Shambhu Lal met her at the bus stop and took her to Jyoti, a nurse he had a relationship with at the time.
Puja started sharing Jyoti's lodgings. But Shambhu Lal then resumed his relationship with Puja, which caused a rift between him and Jyoti. Six months ago, Puja's mother finally stepped in and brought Puja home.
The chargesheet says Ballu Sheikh and his friend called shambhu and threatened him for resuming his relationship with Puja.
The chargesheet says Shambhu Lal then decided to kill Mohammad Afrajul, who worked with Ballu Sheikh. He thought if Afrajul, a labour contractor was killed, Bengali migrant labours like Ballu Sheikh and his associates he hired would not be able to come to Rajsamand, and he and puja would be able to carry on their affair.
Shambhu Lal's lawyer Sameer Vyas, who is yet to receive a copy of the chargesheet, questions why the police has not recorded the statements of Ballu Sheikh and Ajju, key characters in the case.
Shambhu Lal, he claimed, was not involved with Puja. The man, he said, went to West Bengal to recover Puja following the directions by her mother and the community. "He was beaten up in West Bengal by Ballu Sheikh and others, after which he went into depression. He was also being treated at a clinic for depression after returning to Rajasamand," he said.
Senior police officers of the district have refused to comment on the chargesheet.