In a major breakthrough, the Bihar police on Wednesday arrested five contract killers in connection with the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
The police said that three motorcycles and a country-made pistol of 7.65 mm bore, along with two cartridges, were recovered from the shooters, which is being examined by the forensic team in Siwan.
“Interrogations will continue to find out how many more persons were involved in the murder of the journalist,” additional director-general of police Sunil Kumar said on Wednesday in Patna, claiming that the shooters had no criminal history.
“The country-made pistol recovered from their possession matched the bullets which were found on the crime scene,” the additional director-general added.
The five shooters were allegedly hired by Shahbuddin’s aide Laddan Mian. The police said Laddan Mian was in Siwan jail and was released on bail a fortnight before the murder. Initially, the police had suspected him as one of the shooter.
The police, however, refused to comment on the motive behind the murder, saying the shooters involved didn’t even know who they were killing.
“They were asked to finish the work and flee from the scene,” the police said.
The suspicion over Shahbuddin’s involvement deepened further after Laddan’s name figured in the case. Laddan Mian, according to police sources, is close to Shahbuddin.
“Laddan Mian’s arrest will throw more light on the motive behind the murder,” Mr Kumar said.
The journalist, Rajdeo Ranjan, was murdered point blank on May 13 in Siwan by motorcycle-borne shooters. During the probe, several time Shahbuddin’s name had surfaced as the mastermind and later, after the police raided his cell in Siwan jail last week, he was shifted to Bhagalpur jail.
According to sources, the Siwan police and the SIT team is also trying to verify the identity of those who frequently visited Shahbuddin in jail. On May 18, the police had seized around 40 mobile phones from visitors who had gone to meet Shahbuddin. Later on May 20, the police had raided the Siwan jail and had recovered around 17 cellphones and 20 SIM cards.
The SIT team is also trying to figure out whether the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan was linked to the stories he had done earlier and is also probing call details which were made from Siwan jail. Shahbuddin was sentenced to life imprisonment after the court found him guilty of kidnapping and murder in the year 2007.
“Criminals involved in the murder will not be spared no matter how powerful they are”, ADG Sunil Kumar said.
