Bhopal: The murder of RTI activist Shehla
Masood appears to be a "crime of passion" and whether it was
part of any larger conspiracy is still a matter of
investigation, CBI officials said on Tuesday.
"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 officials said.
Specifically asked about the suspected role of Madhya
Pradesh BJP MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh in the case, they said,
"We have not given a clean chit to him."
CBI has so far arrested three persons in connection with
the case and they include city-based interior 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.
"So far, it is clear that interior designer Zahida
Pervez was the one who gave the contract for eliminating
Shehla to Shakib Danger," the officials alleged.
According to preliminary probe, 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 11:19:30-40. At 11.26 am, a confirmation call was made to
Zahida, the officials 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 details of the entire crime was revealed by
the alleged shooter, Irfaan, CBI is still in the process of
stitching together the entire episode. The Central agency was
also looking out for another shooter involved in the crime.
A court in Kanpur has allowed CBI to interrogate Irfaan
in Bhopal.
Meanwhile, CBI Director A P Singh, arrived here last
night to review the progress in the high-profile murder case.
PTI
