Rajasthan double murder horror: Retired army officer, wife killed by former tenants in Bikaner; 3 arrested, 3 absconding

JAIPUR: Two days after the decomposed bodies of 67-year-old retired army officer Gopal Verma and his 62-year-old wife Nirmala Verma were found in their locked home in Bikaner's Muktaprasad Colony, police Friday arrested three people, including a couple who once lived in the house as tenants.

Police said the murder was carried out by six people, including the couple, the woman's father and brother, and two others who were hired by the father from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on July 13 between 9pm and 10pm.

The accused strangled the elderly couple and fled with jewellery and cash, the exact amount of which is yet to be established.

IG Bikaner Om Prakash said that those arrested have been identified as Arun Kumar, 28, a resident of Dharma Nagar Dwar, Naya Shahar in Bikaner; Rohit Bansal, 24, from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh; and Priya Sisodia, 23.

Police said Priya lived with Arun in a live-in relationship in Vermas' house as tenants during Dec, Jan and Feb. Her father, Karmaveer Sisodia, and brother, Priyanshu, often visited them and stayed in the house from time to time. They befriended the elderly couple, claiming they were performing occult practices to help them, and gradually gained the couple's trust.

Add SP Bikaner Saurabh Tiwari said that the gang conspired to rob the couple after learning that they lived alone. "On July 13, Karmaveer Sisodia, his associate Sumit from Ghaziabad, Rohit Bansal, and others entered the house and strangled the couple before ransacking the home and escaping with valuables," the officer said.

Three others, including Karmaveer Sisodia and Sumit, named in the FIR are still on the run. Efforts were underway to trace them.

Police said suspicion first fell on the former tenants. Arun Kumar's behaviour during questioning raised doubts; he booked Priya into a hotel in Bikaner under his own identity and tried to mislead investigators. He also deleted his call records, further deepening suspicion. Mobile location data and hotel records eventually helped police connect the dots and confirm his involvement.

Police teams continue to search multiple locations to recover the missing jewellery and cash. The elderly couple lived alone in their house in Sector 4/11 of Muktaprasad Colony in Bikaner. Both their sons work in different multinational companies. One of them lives in Noida, while the other lives in Canada.

According to police, Gopal Verma's son, who lives in Noida, repeatedly tried to call them on July 15 but received no response. Concerned, he asked his uncle, who lives nearby, to check on them. It was then that the elderly couple's bodies were discovered.