4 held for killing mahant

HARIDWAR: Three people were arrested in Roorkee on Thursday evening for allegedly killing a religious head in Haridwar two years ago.
A man who had given the trio a contract for the murder of the mahant, Sudhir Giri, for Rs 9 lakh, was also arrested, Haridwar SSP Sadanand Date said at a press conference on Friday.
The mahant of Mahanirwani Panchayati Akhada in Kankhal, Haridwar, was shot dead in February 2012 near Belada village under Roorkee police station, Date said.
There have also been allegations that certain political leaders, media persons and inmates of the Akhada were involved in the murder, he said, adding that efforts are on to find the truth behind these claims.
One of the arrested accused, Ashish alias Tulli, is from Kankhal, while the remaning three -Mehtab alias Kala, Imtiyaz alias Jugnu and Hazi Naushad - are from Muzaffarnagar in UP, Date said. Ashish had given a contract for Giri's murder to the trio as he had some personal enmity with the mahant, he said.
A 32 bore English pistol and cartridges were recovered from Mehatab, while a 315 bore country made pistol and cartridges from Imtiyaz, the SSP said.
Giving details of the crime, Date said Ashish was working as an accountant in the akhada and Giri had got him removed in 2004 for allegedly causing financial damage to the religious body. Ashish had reportedly bought the akhada's land at throwaway prices and sold it to property dealers at high rates, making a lot of money.
He had, however, managed to get himself reinstated into the akhada in 2006 and took revenge by getting the mahant eliminated, Date said.
While Mehtab and Imtiyaz were nabbed on a tip off at a toll barrier in Roorkee, the car's owner, Naushad, who had provided them shelter, was arrested along with Ashish, he said.
The Uttarakhand DGP has announced a prize of Rs 10,000 for the police team that solved the case.