Two maulanas, three others detained in Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari's murder case

Unknown assailants brutally murdered Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari at his office in Lucknow's Naka Hindola area on Friday.

File Photo

New Delhi: In a joint operation by Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh Police, two maulanas (Muslim clerics) and three others were detained in connection with the killing of right-wing leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. While the two maulanas were detained in Uttar Pradesh, the three other accused were taken into custody in Gujarat's Surat.

In the first, Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested three persons from Limbayat area of Surat, who according to the police were involved in planning Kamlesh Tiwari's murder. The accused have been identified as - Maulana Mohsin Sheikh, Faizan and Khurshid Ahmed Pathan. Confirming the same, Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh revealed today that two other accused were also detained in the case but were released later. However, the police has been monitoring their movement.

On Friday night, hours after the shocking murder of the Hindu Samaj Party leader,  police detained at least seven suspects and interrogated them. The suspects were detained on the basis of CCTV footage that showed them inside a sweet shop in Surat. It is to be noted that the two assailants, who opened fire on Kamlesh Tiwari at his office yesterday, had bought the gun in a sweet box. As per police, the assailants were known to Tiwari as they had gone to offer him sweet where they used the opportunity to shot him down.

In the CCTV footage, the two suspects are seen purchasing the sweet box from a shop in Surat.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested two 'maulanas' from Bijnor's area of the state. This comes a day after Tiwari's wife registered a complaint against Maulana Anwarul Haq and Mohammad Mufti Naeem - who had announced a bounty on Tiwari's head for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad a few years ago. The police booked the two under Sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, the Lucknow police is expected to arrive in Surat on Saturday. The three accused arrested by Gujarat ATS will thereafter be handed over to the Lucknow police team.  

A report said earlier in October 2017, the Gujarat ATS has arrested two persons - Qasim and Ubaid from Surat. According to police, the two were suspected ISIS agents and were conspiring to kill the Hindu leader.

On Friday, Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered in a broad daylight at his office, located on the first floor of his house in Khurshidbagh area of Naka Hindola in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. As per the police, two persons barged into his house and slit his throat and stabbed him several times before fleeing from the spot.