Accused made fake Facebook account to befriend Kamlesh Tiwari: Cops
What's the story
With every day, new details related to the sensational murder of the firebrand Hindu leader, Kamlesh Tiwari, are emerging.
Apparently, the plan to kill Tiwari was hatched three months ago and one of the accused befriended him using a fake account, cops said.
This explains why Tiwari let the killers in and chatted with them minutes before he was brutally murdered in Lucknow.
Murder
Context: Tiwari's killers were allowed inside house, they murdered him
Tiwari, a leader of the right-leaning Hindu Samaj Party, was shot at and his throat slit last week. The killers came to his office carrying a box of sweets, where they purportedly hid the knife.
His death sparked outrage, prompting state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to say that the accused will not go scot-free.
On Sunday, he met the bereaved family.
Plan
The plan was seeded more than three months ago
According to an ET report, the plot to kill Tiwari was hatched more than three months ago, when one Rashid Ahmed Pathan returned to Surat from Dubai, where he worked as a computer operator.
He then brought his brother Moinuddin Ahmed and aide Ashfaq Hussain on board.
Tiwari's objectionable comments against Prophet Muhammad in 2015 drove them to plan the crime.
Friendship
Since Tiwari was "friends" with Ashfaq, killers met him easily
It was Ashfaq who contacted Tiwari through social media using the fake name Rohit Solanki. He expressed interest in working with Tiwari's organization.
On October 18, the day of the murder, Tiwari was scheduled to meet "Rohit".
Yesterday, the police recovered blood stained clothes, apparently belonging to the accused, from a hotel. A few other bags were also found.
Quote
According to police, the killers weren't professional ones
"Both these men do not seem like professional killers or associated with any terror organization as they left behind the pistol at the crime scene and the knife used in the crime at the hotel room where they had stayed in Lucknow," a cop said.
Details
A manhunt has been launched
Three men, Rashid, Maulana Mohsin Sheikh, and Faizan, were arrested by Gujarat ATS last week. Faizan is the one who purchased the box of sweets which was used to hide weapons.
Two others are still at large and as per reports, their last known location was somewhere in NCR.
UP police has launched a manhunt to bring the killers to book.
Family
Meanwhile, Tiwari's mother was upset with Adityanath
Tiwari's mother, Kusum, who blamed a BJP leader for the murder, criticized Adityanath.
Earlier, she called him his "elder son", but later the mourning mother said she wasn't satisfied with the CM's behavior.
"We generally do not step out until 13 days after someone's death. But policemen were after us for the last 24 hours saying we need to meet with CM," she said.