The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on Tuesday claimed to have arrested the two main suspects who allegedly committed the murder of Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow on October 18.
The two were nabbed from Shamlaji near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, the police said, adding that they were on their way to Gujarat after having reached Shahjahanpur from Nepal.
The duo were identified as Ashfaqhussain Jakirhussain Shaikh, 34, and Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan, 27. Both are residents of Surat, the Gujarat ATS said. While Shaikh is a medical representative, Pathan is a food delivery boy, the police said.
The ATS said that the two were apprehended on the basis of technical and physical surveillance mounted on their family members and acquaintances. The two had approached their family members and acquaintances for “further finances” after they ran out of money, the police said.
The primary investigation of the accused persons revealed that they had committed the crime “in retribution to purported statements by the deceased”, the ATS said. In 2015, Tiwari had shot into the limelight after he made controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad following which several Muslim groups held protests demanding action against him. Six persons, including two Muslim clerics from Bijnor in western U.P., have already been detained in the case.
Published - October 23, 2019 01:40 am IST
