UP CM meets kin of Hindutva leader, assures them of all help but his mother remains dissatisfied
Lucknow, Oct 20: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday assured the family members of slain Hindutva leader Kamlesh Tiwari of all help after they demanded speedy trial and capital punishment for the culprits during a meeting with him at his official residence here.
Immediately after the 30-minute meeting with the chief minister, the family members said they were satisfied with his assurances but later Tiwari's mother expressed unhappiness over being "forced" to venture out of their house for the meeting against the Hindu customs during the mourning period.
She also said that they asked Adityanath why Tiwari's "security cover was withdrawn" but did not get a proper response.
"It was at his (CM) direction that policemen forced us to meet him. So we were compelled to come (to Lucknow)," she said.
"Had I been satisfied (with the chief minister's assurance), my blood would not have boiled," she told mediapersons later when asked if she was satisfied with the meeting.
"If we do not get justice, I myself will take up the sword," Tiwari's distraught mother Kusum told reporters some time after meeting Adityanath.
"We asked the CM as to why the security cover of Kamlesh was withdrawn, why was he so brutally killed," she said.
The chief minister's expressions were "not as per our desire", added Kusum, who had on Saturday accused a local BJP leader of killing Tiwari over a temple dispute.
The family members Kamlesh Tiwari had on Saturday delayed his cremation, demanding a meeting with the chief minister to put forth their nine demands, including a probe by the National Investigation Agency.
"Yogi Adityanath has assured every possible action in the matter. We feel satisfied after meeting him. Our demand is that the killers should be given capital punishment," Tiwari wife Kiran was accompanied by her three sons, told reporters after emerging from the meeting.
Replying to reporters' queries, Tiwari's mother said, "I told the chief minister I want justice for my son and strict punishment should be given to the killers. We have been assured by the chief minister, and by giving the assurance, the chief minister has given many things."
Official sources said the UP chief minister assured all help to the family during the meeting, saying the police are earnestly probing the case and the guilty persons will not be spared.
They said the family demanded a government job for Tiwari's son, security to the family and an arms licence for their safety and security.
They also demanded the naming of their colony after Tiwari, besides installation of his statue and hearing of the matter in a fast-track court.
The police, meanwhile, on Sunday said during investigation, it came to the light that the suspected killers were staying in a hotel in Naka Hindola area.
UP Director General of Police O P Singh said, "According to the hotel staff, the two had identified themselves as Sheikh Ashfaqul Hussain and Muinuddin Pathan. On the day of murder, both of them had left the hotel, wearing saffron kurta, and there was a box of sweets in their hands."
He added, "They came to the hotel on October 17 and left it on October 18 afternoon. A saffron kurta with blood stains was found lying on their bed. The towel, which was retrieved, too had blood stains on it. A box of new mobile phone was also found from the spot. This is a big success in the investigation. The police will soon reach the killers."
Singh also said the police was examining the CCTV footage and quizzing suspects, while exploring all angles behind the crime.
An SIT has already been formed to crack the case, he said.
The room of the hotel in which the suspected killers had stayed has been sealed, said a hotel official.
On the presence of a woman along with the two suspected killers in a video clip, Additional Superintendent of Police (Lucknow West) Vikas Tripathi, said the woman was canvassing for a candidate in the ongoing bypolls for the Lucknow cantonment and as of now nothing has been found against her.
Hindu Samaj Party chief Tiwari, 45, earlier associated with a faction of the Hindu Mahasabha, was killed at his home in Khurshed Bagh here on Friday.
Terming the murder as "an act of mischief to create terror," Adityanath had on Saturday said the guilty will not be spared.
Shortly after Adityanath met the family members of Kamlesh Tiwari, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav asked him to also meet the kin of those killed in the state "due to bad law and order".
"The CM's meeting the family members of the victim who was murdered in Lucknow is a welcome step. I hope the CM will visit Allahabad, Kannauj, Jhansi and Meerut also where family members of those killed due to bad law and order in the state reside."
Separate murder incidents were reported in Allahabad, Kannauj, Jhansi and Meerut districts during the past few days.
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Bengaluru drug bust: 8 people arrested, total seizures valued at 27.42 cr
Bengaluru (PTI): Eight people, including a foreign national, were arrested for illegally selling drugs in the city, police said on Tuesday.
They seized drugs, vehicles and other items worth Rs 27.42 crores.
According to police, based on credible information received from informants on various dates, officers and staff learned that prohibited narcotic substances such as MDMA, Ganja, and Cocaine were being sold within the limits of Hebbagodi, Yelahanka New Town, Mico Layout, Parappana Agrahara, Bagalur, and Banaswadi Police Stations.
Acting on this information, cases were registered under the NDPS Act in the respective police stations, and raids were conducted at the locations identified by the informants.
"During these operations, a total of 8 accused persons were apprehended on different dates, including one foreign national, and four interstate offenders," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told reporters here.
Upon interrogation, the accused confessed that, with the intention of making quick money, they procured narcotic substances such as MDMA, Cocaine, and Ganja at lower prices from unknown foreign and local suppliers and sold them to the public, including college students, he said.
"A total of Rs 13.71 Crores worth drugs and other items have been seized. These include 12 kg 91 grams of MDMA, 275 grams of Cocaine, 34 kg 802 grams of Ganja, 40 grams of gold ornaments (purchased from proceeds of drug sales), 02 two-wheelers used for the offence. The total estimated market value of all these is Rs 27.42 Crores," he added.
The Commissioner further said efforts are on to trace the unknown individuals who supplied the narcotic substances to the accused.
Investigation is underway.
"There is information about the involvement of other foreign nationals, and through FRRO we learned one person has already left the country... interrogations and investigations will continue," he said.
All eight accused have been produced before the court on different dates and have been remanded to judicial custody, officials said.
Noting that in the case under the Electric City division, raids were conducted at five different houses and different quantities of drugs were seized, Singh said, "This is a serious matter as the house was taken for rent and they supplied from there. The information came from the arrest of the foreigner. Total value of seizure in Hebbagodi alone is Rs 27 crore (market value)."
