2 involved in INLD leader Rathee's killing arrested in Goa
Chandigarh/New Delhi, Mar 4: Two people have been arrested from Goa in connection with the killing of INLD leader Nafe Singh Rathee, police said on Monday.
Rathee, the president of the Indian National Lok Dal's (INLD) Haryana unit, and party worker Jai Kishan were killed after multiple rounds were fired on their vehicle in Bahadurgarh in the state's Jhajjar district on February 25.
Ashish and Saurabh were arrested from Goa in a joint operation by the Haryana Police's Special Task Force, the district police and the Delhi Police's Special Cell, officials said.
They were arrested from North Goa, where they were staying in a hotel, police officials in Delhi said and added that they will be brought to the national capital by afternoon.
A senior Delhi Police official said Ashish, Saurabh, Nakul and Atul were the four who opened fire on Rathee and Kishan's vehicle on February 25.
A team of the Delhi Police's Special Cell (Southwestern Range) was involved in the operation in Goa, the official said.
The two shooters were arrested from Goa on the basis of various inputs and they will be brought to Bahadurgarh, the Haryana Police said.
Ashish and Saurabh -- residents of Delhi's Nangloi -- are associates of UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, who, through a purported social media post, took responsibility of killing Rathee.
The attack on the INLD leader, which came ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, drew sharp reactions from opposition parties in BJP-ruled Haryana.
Police in Jhajjar had named former BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik and others in the FIR registered after the incident. The case was registered under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 302 (murder), and the Arms Act.
In his police complaint, Rathee's nephew Rakesh had said five unidentified killers, who were following them in a car, came out and fired indiscriminately near the Barahi railway crossing.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had recently had said in the state assembly that the probe into the killings will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala has accused the BJP-JJP government in Haryana of failing to provide security to Rathee, despite there being a threat to his life.
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Prime organiser of Messi event in Kolkata arrested over ‘mismanagement’ after stadium chaos
Kolkata (PTI): The police on Saturday arrested Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake Stadium here, following widespread chaos at the venue, which prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the stadium unrest, Datta was held by the Bidhannagar Police for “mismanagement” of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad.
"We are looking into whether there was any mismanagement from the organiser's side, which led to the chaos at the stadium. He has been detained, and the police have now brought the situation under control," West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar said at a press conference.
A senior police officer later confirmed that Dutta has been arrested. Till reports last received, the police were interrogating him and his manager inside one of the departure lounges of the airport.
The organiser has given in writing that he will refund the prices of tickets he sold to the disappointed spectators, Kumar said.
What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.
Police said they were also investigating how organisers allowed sale of bottled waters and beverages inside the stadium premises, which are banned items during such events.
Thousands of water bottles were used as missiles and lobbed inside the pitch by angry spectators, who also uprooted bucket seats from the gallery and used them as ammunition inside the field against the defending police and security personnel.
Spectators alleged that water bottles were being sold at a massive premium inside the stadium despite police disallowing such items from outside at the entry gates.
Police agreed there was an underlying tension in the galleries on account of Messi not showing his footballing skills on the field, which only got aggravated after a bunch of VIPs, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and unidentified people, blocked the football icon’s view during the limited time he spent on the ground.
“We are on the job, and will ensure that whoever is responsible for what happened today at Salt Lake Stadium will be punished, and action will be taken against the authorities concerned,” said Jawed Shamim, ADG, Law and Order.
