Police find vital leads in British aid worker's murder case, call it "crime of passion"

British aid worker, Michael Blakey, was a victim of 'crime of passion,' Indian police said, claiming to have found vital leads concerning his gruesome murder.

The murder of Michael Blakey, a young British aid worker, in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, left the world stunned and grieving since the people living in the region are peace–loving.

Blakey's body was discovered, November 28, partly concealed beneath a pile of stones in a ditch near a small church on the outskirts of Dharamsala. He was last seen three days earlier leaving the St. John of the Wilderness Church, a Victorian stone church where Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy of India, was buried in 1863.

Blakey had arrived in Dharamsala in June to work for the Edinburgh–based Tong Len Charitable Trust, which works with displaced Tibetan children and families.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP), A.K. Yadav, who is investigating the murder, Blakey had died from savage blows with a rock to the left side of his face and neck.

Local post mortem examination has revealed that he died from asphyxia and neurological shock.

His body has now been repatriated, and a British coroner will conduct a full inquest. The police believe his injuries may have been caused when he was surprised by someone behind him, and half–turned towards them.

Dismissing previous speculation that the Briton had been stoned to death, SP Yadav said the killer had used three boulders, each the size of paving slabs, placed on the face, chest and abdomen to weigh down the body in the partially water–filled ditch.

The 23–year–old devout Christian was brutally beaten to death with a rock in an act of jealousy, he said.

Police said they have inverviewed and were carrying out surveillance on Pawan Bhardwaj, 26, who married Rachel Owen, 35, last July, about the death and his wife's friendship with Blakey.

Rachel's mother, Anna Owen, is the director of the Trust.

"You can say it is a crime of passion," said SP Yadav, adding, "Rachel's husband is one of our prime suspects. We are interviewing him, watching his movements and observing his behaviour."

An email found on Blakey's laptop and written to a friend complained that he was being allegedly threatened by Bhardwaj because the latter suspected there was an illicit relationship with his wife, the police officer said.

He said that while Blakey's wallet and mobile phone were missing, they did not believe robbery was the motive as his watch was still on his wrist when his body was discovered.

Admitting he had been questioned by police, Bhardwaj conceded he had been jealous and angered by the extent of contact between Rachel and her British friend.

"I am Indian and my wife is Western, there was a cultural problem and I did not like Michael speaking so much with her... ringing up on her mobile when we were having dinner at home," he said.

"But I never hurt him. There were no arguments. I was always respectful of him," he emphasized. "I was upset and I conveyed that to my wife. But I would not kill someone – even in my dreams. I am being harassed by the police for no reason."

Speaking separately, his wife wept repeatedly when talking of Michael, her fellow worker with the Tong–Len Charitable Trust, which provides help for India's poor and in particular those who have fled Tibet.

"We had a strictly professional relationship," Rachel, who is nearly two months pregnant, insisted. "We worked closely together but we didn't socialise outside much, all we did was talk about work. It is nonsense, rubbish to talk of a relationship."

Asked about the naming of her husband as a possible suspect, she replied, "It is nonsense, rumour. There is no way he had anything to do with it...it is absolutely ludicrous."

"I have heard the rumours but they are not true. No one can believe that a man and woman can have a platonic relationship. I have done nothing wrong, neither has my husband. He has been a great support to me," Rachel said.

"I am certain my husband is innocent – besides, we can account for each moment when the murder took place. He was with me all the time," she added.

In September, three months after marrying, Rachel had suffered a miscarriage, and she fears the strain of the case may cause another lost pregnancy.

"I really am afraid that the strain of all this will make it happen again," she said. "But Pawan is my husband. If I don't protect him from these accusations, who will?"

"I don't know how we are going to cope without Michael, he was irreplacable but we will have to," she said. "He put everyone else to shame with his passion, his dedication to work. I can't believe he could have made an enemy, let alone someone could do this."

Besides suspecting jealousy as a motive, the police said they would also study the charity's funds to see whether they could provide any clue to the killing. According to sources close to the development, the police were also investigating whether Bhardwaj was embezzling funds from the Tong Len charity.

It is possible that Blakey had confronted Bhardwaj over some possible fraud or embezzlement, one police official investigating the matter said.

Latest media reports reveal that Pawan Bhardwaj, 28, was arrested, December 10, and charged with murder. The police have remanded Bhardwaj in custody for ten days.

Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, is a small town tucked away at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a settlement of Tibetan refugees and a long–term home of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of the Tibetans.

But hidden danger lurks behind the idyllic town, a favourite haunt of backpackers. In the past year, the place has witnessed a rise in assault on travelers, some seeking spirituality and peace and others looking for drugs. As per police records, 19 murders were committed in the past year.

And, Blakey is not the first foreigner to die suspiciously in Dharamsala this year, a local, on conditions of anonymity, said.

"In March the decomposed body of a white woman was found lying next to a bag full of clothes on the outskirts of the town. Police have yet to confirm her identity," he said. "A month ago a German woman was attacked by two Indian men, who tried to hit her over the head with a rock. But she managed to escape with her life."

Meanwhile, Blakey's parents continue to grieve.

"Michael was due to fly back and was going to spend Christmas with us," his mother, Mary Whitford said. "We were all looking forward to seeing him so much. We just can't believe that he won't be coming."

Blakey's father, Paul, was inconsolable. "If it was an accident it will be a bit more easy to live with. If he was attacked and murdered that would be such a sad, sad loss and very difficult to understand," he said.

Paul recalled that he had last spoken to his son early November when Blakey excitedly told him about the progress being made in vaccinating local children.

"He was extremely happy. He was recovering from a tummy bug but he was fine," Paul said. "He had made an inroad in getting the health authorities' treatment of the local children. He was very pleased."