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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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
