Karimnagar (AP), July 24: Four persons, including Imam of a Masjid in the district, have been arrested in connection with the killing of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya. Syed Akbar, the Imam of Idgah Masjid in Jagityal town, was arrested yesterday by a special Gujarat police team and produced in a local court for transit remand, police sources said here today.
45-year-old Akbar was later taken to Gujarat for further investigations into the case, the sources said. A Hyderabad report said a CBI team from Delhi yesterday arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in Pandya's killing.
Two persons were nabbed from Saidabad and one from Mallepally, police sources said, adding the trio has been indentified as Mohd Mansur Siddiqui, Rahim and Abdul Samad.



The accused were produced before a local court last evening for transit remand for taking them to Ahmedabad, the sources said.



Meanwhile, members of the Muslim community staged a dharna in the old bus stand area in Karimnagar to protest the Imam's arrest, the sources said.



Akbar, a native of Regunta village in Mallapur Mandal here, has been allegedly involved in several other offences, the sources added.


Bureau Report