Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday claimed to have found the clothes allegedly worn by the murder suspects of Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari, who was killed at his residence in Lucknow on Friday.
Police said the clothes and a bag were found at a hotel near Tiwari’s house. The two suspects who were zeroed in through the CCTV footage are believed to have changed their clothes at the hotel before running away. They checked into the hotel before killing Tiwari and once again came there to change their clothes after the murder.
According to police the killers came from Gujarat to Kanpur and then travelled again to reach Lucknow. The suspects were last located in the NCR.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra police late on Saturday night arrested a man from Nagpur’s Mominpura locality in connection with the murder of former Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari, an official said. The ATS official said the arrest was made on the basis of leads provided by the the Uttar Pradesh Police.
The arrested man was identified as Sayed Asim Ali (29), who runs a hardware business in the city.
Earlier, on Saturday in a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Police, three people were arrested and two others questioned in the Tiwari murder case.
Uttar Pradesh DGP, OP Singh and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) DIG Himanshu Shukla said that during the initial interrogation, three of the accused have accepted that they were involved in the murder of the saffron leader and that the trio is linked to the case in some manner.
The accused arrested in Gujarat have been identified as Maulana Mohsin Sheikh (24) Rasheed Ahmed Pathan (23) and Faizan (21).
A total of five people were involved in the murder according to police. Four have been arrested.
Meanwhile, Kamlesh Tiwari’s family met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday . Tiwari’s mother, his wife, and three sons were present for the meeting.
His cremation was delayed as his family members were adamant on meeting the Chief Minister to put forth their nine demands, including a probe by the National Investigation Agency, government job for one of the victim’s sons and security for them.
Terming the murder “an act of mischief to create terror”, Adityanath had on Saturday said the guilty will not be spared.
Tiwari’s mother, Kusuma, had on Saturday alleged that he was killed by a local BJP leader over a temple dispute.
“My son was killed by a local BJP leader Shiv Kumar Gupta due to a temple land dispute in village. But I am alive and I will kill him,” she told reporters in Sitapur.
Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police O P Singh told TV channels on Sunday that the police are examining CCTV footage, quizzing suspects and exploring all angles of the crime.
Former leader of the Hindu Mahasabha Kamlesh Tiwari was shot dead and his throat slit in broad daylight in Lucknow on Friday.
The attackers wearing saffron clothes, on the pretext of handing over a box of sweets, walked into Tiwari’s office in Khurshid Bagh area. Soon after walking in, they took out the firearm and shot Tiwari.
Tiwari had earlier made highly controversial remarks involving Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested and the National Security Act (NSA) was slapped on him. Later the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court revoked the NSA against him.
This is the fourth murder of a right-wing leader this month. BJP leaders Chaudhary Yashpal Singh, Kabir Tiwari and Dhara Singh were killed on October 8, October 10 and October 13 respectively.
(With inputs from PTI)