After a week-long flip flop, the Bijnore Police returned to the baseline of their confusion-frought probe into the grisly killing of NIA Deputy SP, Tanzil Ahmad to finally work out the case on Tuesday.
After detaining two suspects- Reyan aka Rehan and Mohamed Zaini aka Zainul for the last ten days, they were arrested in black and white while the absconding Muneer was termed as the prime conspirator and hitman. Reyan is a kin of the slain officer. The motives ascribed to the murder were a family feud and a personal enmity. A Honda CBZ motorcycle (UP20AC-6080) recovered over a week back, was shown as the murder vehicle.
Briefing the media, IG (Bareilly Zone), Vijay Singh Meena claimed, "Reyan and his cohort Zaini were arrested earlu Tuesday morning. However, prime accused Muneer, on whom a cash reward of Rs 50,000 has been announced, was still on the run."
Few days back, despite DGP, Zaveed Ahmed declaring Muneer the prime accused had announcing a cash reward for his arrest, acting IG (law and order) Deepak Ratan on Monday evening, had debunked the theory by saying that the probe was still on .
Now the IG, Bareilly Zone has done a volte face on Muneer to confirm that the reward was announced as he was wanted in connection with the Deputy SP's murder.
The IG revealed that Reyan and Zaini were present in the function attended by Ahmad. "During quizzing, Reyan revealed that the cop used to harass and insult him and his family members regularly and even got him arrested on a fake mobile theft charge. Reyan charged Ahmad of grabbing a prime property in New Delhi in lieu of a shop by pressuring his uncle and aunt. Similarly, Ahmad was also charged of pressuring other kin of Reyan and grabbing their properties."
"Before the shoot-out on April 2 night, Reyan and his chum Muneer refilled their bike at a petrol pump where Muneer masked himself but Reyan did not.
later Reyan drove the bike to the scene with Muneer riding the pillon. Muneer peppered Ahmad and his wife Farzana with bullets fired from a 9 mm pistol. While Muneer selpt at his Sahaspur village house, he fled the next morning. Two days later, Reyan returned to the petrol pump to enquire whether he
featured in the CCTV grab. The police got a wind from the footage and dropped the net on Reyan, who owned up his complicity," the top cop disclosed.
The IG also attached another angle to the crime saying that Muneer was involved in robbing a Punjab National Bank cash van of Rs 91 lakh in Dhampur area of Bijnore on December 28, 2015. "Muneer believed that Ahmad was collecting evidence against him and aiding the probe teams. The 9 mm pistol used in the robbery was the same which was used in Ahmad's murder," said Meena.
Earlier SP, Bijnore, Subhash Singh Baghel had said that Reyan and Zaini were arrested from a posh locality in the city. He suspected that Muneer could be hiding in Goa or Mumbai and teams have been despatched there for nabbing him.
Ahmed was shot 24 times by criminals while returning from the wedding of his niece on April 2 last. The officer's wife Farzana was also critically injured in the attack, but his two children escaped unhurt.