A special CBI court in Lucknow has sentenced an IIT alumnus, Rahul Verma, to life imprisonment in the murder case of Mumbai-based fashion designer Adesh Bajpai. Verma, a graduate of IIT Kanpur, has also been fined Rs 75,000.
Bajpai was murdered in 2008, with his remains discovered on the IIT Kanpur campus. The case was transferred to the CBI by the Allahabad High Court in 2010.
According to the case, Bajpai met his cousin Vivek Trivedi in Kanpur on August 10, 2008, and informed him of his intention to meet Verma at IIT. Trivedi dropped Bajpai near their meeting spot.
After this, Bajpai lost contact with his family. His father, Suryakant Bajpai, filed a missing persons report with the Kanpur police six days later. Mobile location data indicated Bajpai's presence on the IIT campus.
Thirteen days later, bones and body parts identified as Bajpai's were discovered in a gunny bag on the campus. Forensic tests and circumstantial evidence pointed to Verma's involvement, leading to his arrest in January 2012.
"The deceased Adesh Bajpai and the accused Rahul Verma were members of a group. Adesh Bajpai went with accused Rahul Verma on the night of August 10, 2008, from Moolganj Chauraha, Kanpur," stated a CBI spokesperson.
The CBI filed a chargesheet against Verma in April 2012, combining the recovery of bones and the missing person complaint. After trial, Verma was found guilty based on evidence from 44 witnesses, 66 documents, and 16 material objects presented by the CBI.