Temple priest, aide among three arrested for journalist's murder in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur
Sitapur (UP) (PTI): Police recently arrested three men, including a temple priest, in connection with the murder of a journalist, who was shot dead on the Sitapur-Delhi National Highway on March 8, officials said.
Two shooters who carried out the attack on Raghavendra Bajpai -- a resident of Maholi who worked with a Hindi daily -- remain at large and efforts are underway to arrest them, they added.
Sitapur SP Chakraesh Mishra had formed three teams to investigate the case, which questioned more than 100 suspects and scanned around 250 CCTV camera feeds, leading to the arrests.
"The probe revealed the involvement of Shivananda Baba alias Vikas Rathore, a priest at the Karedev Baba temple in Maholi. CCTV camera footage showed two men loitering around the temple suspiciously near Bajpai's residence around the time of the incident. After further probe, police arrested Shivananda Baba, his close aide Nirmal Singh, and Aslam Ghazi," the SP said.
"Their interrogation revealed that Bajpai reportedly saw Shivananda in a compromising position within the temple, which could have severely damaged the latter's reputation.
"Shivananda narrated the incident to Nirmal Singh, who, with the help of Aslam Ghazi, orchestrated a contract killing to eliminate Bajpai. Two shooters were hired for the job," the officer said.
Three teams from the Crime Branch and seven teams from the Special Task Force (STF) are currently conducting raids to nab the shooters.
A reward of Rs 25,000 each has been announced for information leading to the duo's arrest, the SP said.
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UP: 90 Bangladeshis, including 28 children, held in Mathura for illegal stay
Mathura (UP), May 16 (PTI): As many as 90 Bangladeshi nationals, including many children, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Friday for alleged illegal stay in India, officials said.
They were taken into custody from local brickyards at Khajpur village under the Naujheel police station limits, a senior officer said.
"Regular searches were being conducted throughout the district. During one such operation, police were searching some local brickyards when they came across Bangladeshi nationals working there," SSP Shlok Kumar said.
Giving a break-up, the officer said in all, 35 men, 27 women and 28 children have been taken into custody.
"During interrogation, all of them admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. They moved to Mathura three to four months back from a neighbouring state. Police are trying to establish their links," the SSP said, adding that their job contractor and other associates are also being questioned.
The officer told PTI that police also recovered some Aadhaar cards from the Bangladeshi nationals, apparently issued on forged documents in some other state.
Further legal proceedings are underway, Kumar said.
