Charred Body of Journalist Found on the Outskirts of Ahmedabad

The charred body of Chirag Patel was found on a vacant plot near a chemical factory at Kathwada village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

The body of a journalist working for the news channel – TV9 Gujarati – was found on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on Saturday morning, 16 March. The body was discovered by a passer-by on an empty plot of land near a chemical factory in Kathwada village.

The body was identified from the victim’s identity card which read – Chirag Patel, Copy Editor, TV9. According to the The Indian Express, Ahmedabad Crime Branch has teamed up with Nikol police station to solve the case.

The police have charged unknown persons with murder in the FIR. Patel, who is a resident of Nikol, had reportedly left home on Friday, and never returned.

Elder Brother Says ‘No Enmity With Anyone’

The Quint spoke with Jaimin Patel, Chirag’s elder brother, who said that on Friday, 15 March, Chirag had his weekly off and was in quite a fresh mood.

“The family had lunch together in the afternoon after which I left for work. Chirag left home at around 3-3:30 pm. He usually informs my mother when he steps out, but that day she was fast asleep. When he didn’t return the whole day, we were worried. We tried reaching his phone but to no avail. Finally I went to the police station to file a complaint.”

Jaimin Patel, Victim’s Elder Brother

Jaimin claims that the police didn’t file a complaint immediately as 24 hours had not passed since Chirag went missing. On Saturday afternoon, the cops called him to identify Chirag’s body.

“They called me to the civil hospital where they showed my Chirag’s body. Its been three days now since Chirag was found dead. The cops only showed me CCTV footage of where my brother was after he left home. He visited a shop near home to buy some meetha masala and Red Bull. After that, cops tell me that he was seen in Nana Chiloda area on CCTV cameras.”

Jaimin Patel

Jaimin further added that Chirag was a happy soul who didn’t have any enmities with anyone and absolutely loved his work.

The Quint also spoke with HB Zala, inspector of Nikol police station, who said that the case is quite complicated as the cops are not able to determine the motive behind his death.

“The body was discovered by the villagers. We sent the body for a post-mortem, and the report says he was burnt to death. There were no signs of struggle reported in the PM report, where the victim tried to fend off any alleged perpetrator. We even asked the victim’s family if he was in a relationship or under debt. They told us they were not aware of it.”

HB Zala, PI, Nikol police station

He added, “ We don’t even know what he was doing in this area to begin with.”