New Delhi: The assailants of a local BSP MLA are yet to be arrested even as investigators were understood to have identified the shooters and recovered a car they suspected was used in the crime.
Deepak Bhardwaj, the local BSP leader who was the richest candidate in 2009 Lok Sabha polls, was shot dead inside his farmhouse in south Delhi`s Rajokri on Tuesday morning by three men who came in a car.
Police have detained the owner of the car in which the murderers allegedly travelled.
The car owner claimed he had sold the vehicle to the gang on Monday and were supposed to have a final settlement on Wednesday, police sources said.
"We are yet to arrest anybody in the case. Investigations are on," a senior police official said.
Investigators have so far detained eight persons in connection with the incident but refused to confirm that the alleged shooters were in their custody.
The official said raids are being conducted in Haryana, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh to apprehend the assailants who are believed to be residing in a north-west Delhi locality.
"Only after catching the shooters, we can talk about the motive. But one thing is sure, it has something to do with money or property," the official said.
Police have also questioned Bhardwaj`s wife Ramesh Kumari and sons who are living separately.
Investigators are also looking into the role of an insider who might have tipped off the killers about the movement of Bhardwaj and the topography of the farmhouse.
Around 40 employees were inside the around 25 acre farmhouse at the time of the incident. However, the two Personal Security Officers were not with Bhardwaj or inside the farmhouse at the time of the incident.
PTI
