Rajkot: An eight-year-old murder mystery involving a severed head found in the Aji river has finally been solved, with Rajkot police linking the crime to a West Bengal-based labour contractor after a 2025 tip-off and definitive DNA match established the victim’s identity.City police cracked the chilling 2018 cold case after an anonymous tip-off was received in June 2025 and a DNA report confirmed the identity of the 14-year-old boy, from Bardhaman in West Bengal.Tip-Off And RescueThe breakthrough came during a statewide drive in June 2025 targeting illegal immigrants. Assistant commissioner of police (DCB) Bharat Basiya received a tip about suspicious activity near Bedi Chowkdi under B Division police station limits.A joint team of the special operations group (SOG), B Division police and the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) raided the premises, rescuing 19 captives, including 15 minors.The prime suspect, 34-year-old Ajitmaula alias Ajmatmaula from West Bengal, had allegedly subjected the children to severe beatings and forced them to work long hours for minimal wages. Police booked him under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Labour Prohibition Act and arrested him on June 6, 2025.Confession Unearths Dark PastDuring interrogation, AHTU officials questioned Ajitmaula about past abuse. He confessed to beating a child labourer, starving him and dumping the body in the Aji river after the boy died.Although be initially claimed the incident took place during the Covid period, investigators found no matching cases between 2020 and 2022. They then widened the search and linked the confession to an unsolved 2018 case.On Dec 18, 2018, the boy’s severed head was found on a rock in the Aji river near Rukhadia Para. Forensic experts concluded that the child had been gagged, suffered a head injury, and his throat was slit 36 to 72 hours before the head was discovered.DNA Testing Secures Breakthrough“Using details extracted from the accused, we traced the victim’s parents in West Bengal. After phone calls failed to bring the hesitant parents to Gujarat, Rajkot city police funded and arranged their travel, accommodation and meals,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Jagdish Bangarwa.Police collected DNA samples from the victim’s mother, Purnima Hasda, and father, Binod Hasda, in Sep 2025. On June 10, 2026, the report confirmed a match, establishing the identity of the victim.Armed with the evidence, police secured a transfer warrant and arrested Ajitmaula in the murder case. He was already lodged in Rajkot district jail in connection with another offence.Looking Back At InvestigationThe case remained one of Rajkot’s most baffling investigations. Former ACP North Division S R Tandel said police had explored multiple angles, including black magic and extramarital disputes, and examined hospitals over suspicions that a medical instrument was used for decapitation.Despite deploying dog squads, analysing mobile tower data and scanning missing children records from Gujarat and across India, investigators failed to find leads. The dog squad could not trace a scent as the head was found on a rock surrounded by water.Police even brought in a sketch artist from Surat to reconstruct the child’s face based on the skull, but the effort did not yield results.
