Ragpicker spots Surat man’s severed head at waste dump site, rest of body recovered from nearby room

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On a routine visit to a waste dump site in Surat, a ragpicker stumbled upon a man's severed head at Laskana, an industrial hub, on Thursday. The incident occurred while the ragpicker was searching for valuable items amid the household and industrial waste in the area.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the ragpicker immediately alerted the police, which, after an hour’s search, found the rest of the body – inside an unoccupied room in a residential society, which is situated 200 metres away from where the head was found.

The incident was reported from Vipulnagar area in Laskana. Following the gruesome discovery, the police have now launched a search for the identity of the deceased, the killer, and the motive behind the crime.

Officers were quoted by The Indian Express as saying that after the severed head was found, a massive search operation in the Vipulnagar-residential-cum-industrial society was carried out.

On checking CCTV footage of nearby areas, officers spotted a man walking with something “suspicious” wrapped in a cloth. No one has been apprehended yet in the case.

Talking to The Indian Express, Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Alok Kumar, said, “The spot where the body was found lies on the border between Surat city and rural area. There are very few CCTVs here.”

“The deceased is yet to be identified. We have sent our teams with the photo of the man’s face to different societies in the Laskana area for identification. The room from where the rest of the body was recovered is owned by a man who told us that it was not rented out,” he added. The man is being questioned.

On the possible identity of the victim, Laskana Police Inspector K A Chavda was quoted by The Indian Express as saying: “The area is predominantly inhabited by migrants from Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It is possible that the victim was also from one of these states. The head was cut off with a sharp, heavy object. We are reviewing CCTV footage of the man seen walking with what appears to be a suspicious weapon in his hand. We are putting all our efforts into identifying the deceased and apprehending the persons who could be involved in the murder.”