Zeenews Bureau
Bhopal: In an interesting twist to the RTI activist Shehla Masood murder case, Zahida Pervez, the Bhopal-based interior designer, who is the main accused, and her close aides have refused to undergo a polygraph test on Monday.
They had earlier given their consent to the lie detection test, following which, the court allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct the tests on them.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh is also expected to undergo a polygraph test today in connection with the case.
The CBI had also earlier questioned Singh for his alleged role in the RTI activist`s murder.
According to the central probe agency, Shehla Masood`s murder appears to be a "crime of passion" and whether it was part of any larger conspiracy is yet to be ascertained.
"Investigations so far indicate the RTI activist`s murder appears to be a crime of passion. Whether or not the murder was part of a larger conspiracy is a matter of further probe," the CBI officials told reporters.
When asked whether the CBI has given a clean chit to the BJP MLA in the case, they said, "We have not given a clean chit to him yet."
The CBI has so far arrested three persons in connection with the case and they include designer Zahida Pervez, her assistant Saba Farooqi and Shakib Ali `Danger`, an alleged history-sheeter.
Another suspect Irfaan was arrested by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police at Kanpur for another case.
However, the CBI is clear that Pervez was the one who gave the contract for eliminating Shehla to Shakib Danger. The preliminary interrogation of all the accused has revealed that Zahida was jealous of Masood`s alleged closeness with MLA Singh.
A CBI team with the support of local police had closely examined nearly nine lakh calls especially those made from Koh-e-Fiza, the area where Masood lived and where she was shot dead on August 16 last year.
The monitoring of calls found that Masood was shot dead at 11:19. At 11.26 am, a confirmation call was made to Zahida, the probe agency claimed.
It was Shakib `Danger` who had allegedly arranged for killers from Kanpur on the instructions of Zahida and a deal involving Rs 5 lakh was struck. Of this amount, Rs 3 lakh was paid to the assailants, the officials alleged.
Though the detail of the entire crime was revealed by the alleged shooter, Irfaan, the CBI is still in the process of stitching together the entire episode. The Central agency is also looking out for another shooter involved in the crime.
A court in Kanpur has allowed the CBI to interrogate Irfaan in Bhopal.
With PTI Input
