JAMMU: Jammu Police claimed to have cracked the double murder case of an elderly couple by arresting an e-rickshaw driver here.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Joginder Singh addressing a press conference here said, "the police have successfully solved the mystery of double murder case of Sanjay Chandel and his wife Veena Kumari, within 72 hours of the incident in the Pouni Chak area of Jammu."

He said that on September 14, around 6 PM, an alert was received by the In-charge Police Post Pouni Chak regarding the suspicious deaths of Sanjay Chandel, retired principal and his wife at their residence in Patta Bohri area of Domana.

Upon receiving the information, an inquest proceeding under section 194 BNSS was initiated and a police team, along with experts, immediately rushed to the scene, and after completing all legal formalities, the bodies were shifted to the mortuary at Jammu Government Medical College for post-mortem.

Family members provided a critical lead, which was equally supported by CCTV footage showing a suspect near the victims' home and the inquest was converted into murder under relevant sections.

This led to the formation of multiple police teams under the supervision of SP Rural Jammu and acting swiftly, the suspect was identified using local and technical intelligence and identified as Deepak Singh alias Sonu of Colonel Colony, Talab Tillo, Jammu, said the SSP.

He said the accused was arrested from Jalandhar within three days.

Deepak Singh had known the victims for several years and often helped the couple, especially as Sanjay Chandel had health issues and on the day of the crime, an altercation occurred, leading to the murder of both individuals, Singh said.

He stated that Deepak, an e-rickshaw owner, was reportedly in financial need, which is believed to have been the motive behind the crime.

Further the accused had gone to Jalandhar on September 3 and had stopped answering calls from his family, prompting them to file a missing person report on September 9.

On September 13, the family also filed a complaint regarding a transfer of money by the accused to a woman without their consent and during interrogation, the accused admitted to selling his phone also, further indicating his financial distress.