New Delhi: The father of Vikassheel Insaan Party national convener Mukesh Sahani was murdered allegedly by a group of people after a heated argument over money they owed to him, the Bihar Police said Wednesday.
In a statement, Darbhanga Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jagannath Reddy said that Qazim Ansari (40), who had borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh from Jitan Sahani, confessed his role in the murder with help from his associates.
Sahani was found brutally murdered Tuesday morning at his partially constructed house in Jirat village under Ghanshyampur police circle of Darbhanga district, leading to a widespread outcry in Bihar
Taking note of the sensitivity of the case, the Bihar Police had Tuesday sent a Special Task Force (STF) to assist the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed on the order of the Mithila Range Inspector General to expedite investigation.
जीतन सहनी हत्याकांड का सफल उद्भेदन…
– दरभंगा जिला के घनश्यामपुर थानान्तर्गत उक्त घटना का मुख्य आरोपी काजीम अंसारी गिरफ्तार…..
– पैसे के लेन-देन को लेकर हुए विवाद में जीतन सहनी की हुई हत्या, मुख्य आरोपी ने स्वीकारी उक्त घटना में अपनी संलिप्तता (1/3)
— Bihar Police (@bihar_police) July 17, 2024
The FIR was filed under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
ThePrint has seen a copy of the complaint filed by Pawan Sahani, one of the nephews of Jitan Sahani, who alleged that it was an attack given that he was informed that the body was found lying in a pool of blood.
‘Rs 1.5 lakh debt, land mortgaged’
The SIT had detained four suspects who were seen entering and exiting the house in the CCTV footage.
A source in the district police said the money lending angle was under lens from the outset of the investigation as the victim used to lend money to villagers on interest.
A police officer had told ThePrint that personal enmity was not also not being ruled out because of the heinousness of the crime. “It does not look like a case of dispassionate crime as of now. No one without serious reasons to hate or purpose to kill would stab in such a high number,” the police officer had said.
In the statement released Wednesday evening, the Darbhanga SSP said that Qazim was unable to repay the Rs 1.5 lakh he had taken in three instalments at a monthly interest rate of 4 percent.
Police sources said that Qazim and his aides recced the victim’s house before midnight on Monday before entering through the rear entry gate because it was unlocked.
At first, the men tried to intimidate Sahani but when he refused to budge, Qazim allegedly attacked the victim while his aides held him by hands and legs, the sources said. Qazim and his aides then tried to search for the keys of the almirah to retrieve the land records, but dumped it in the pond on the back of the house to destroy documents inside there to safeguard his land.
On Tuesday, Leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav had slammed the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, saying that it had lost the will to rule Bihar.
“Nitish is unable to run Bihar anymore. These all incidences of crimes are state-sponsored and protected by states. ‘Gundaraj’ (rule of goons) has been established in Bihar and people running Bihar government are not understanding the seriousness of the situation,” Yadav said in a video statement.
The Bihar Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had released a statement that Nitish had ordered the DGP to expedite the investigation and strict action against culprits.
(Edited by Tony Rai)