Kamlesh Tiwari’s killers planned to surrender, but got scared and fled: UP Police

When news of the murder started flashing on TV, the accused changed plan & escaped to Nepal. They got more scared when Rs 2.5 lakh reward was announced.

The Gujarat ATS arrested two Surat men (in black hoods) for the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari in Uttar Pradesh | ANI Photo

Lucknow: The two men accused of murdering Hindu Samaj leader Kamlesh Tiwari had planned to surrender to the police soon after committing the crime, but got scared and escaped, ThePrint has learnt.

A source in the Uttar Pradesh Police said the men — Ashfaq Hussain and Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan — had called up Syed Asim Ali, who was arrested from Nagpur, soon after the murder asking him where and how to surrender.

They then checked out of their hotel and roamed the streets within a radius of 2 km, contemplating if they should go directly to the police station. However, by this time, the news of the murder had started flashing on television channels, so they got scared and aborted the plan, the police claimed.

A second source, a police officer, also said the men went close to the police station but didn’t surrender.

“Their ‘plan A’ was to surrender, which is why they did not care much about removing the evidence, including the weapon used in the crime, from the spot. ‘Plan B’ was to escape to Nepal, which they did since they got scared,” the source said.

Travelled in tankers, trains

For five days, Hussain and Pathan travelled more than 200 kilometres within UP using different modes of transport, including tankers, trains, buses and taxis, the police claimed.

The second source quoted above said they were in Lucknow for the entire day on the day of the murder and then left for Bareilly. From Bareilly, the two left for Lakhimpur Kheri in a tanker. They also thought of surrendering in Kheri, but were advised against it by their associates in Surat (Gujarat), the source said.

The men initially failed to cross over into Nepal, and checked into a lodge in Kheri where they stayed for two nights. Eventually, on 20 October, they escaped to Nepal.

“They had already travelled extensively by bus and taxi, and had exhausted all their money. They spoke to their associates in Surat and asked them to arrange some money, but that didn’t work out,” the source said.

The UP Police claimed the men then decided to return to Surat and surrender to the Gujarat Police. The Gujarat ATS, on the other hand, said they returned only because they ran out of money, not because they planned to surrender.

The UP Police also claimed that another reason for their return to Surat was the arrest of their associates, as there was no one to guide them further on where to go next.

‘Fear of being lynched’

According to the UP Police, Hussain and Pathan were in constant touch with Syed, asking him if he had arranged for lawyers to bail them out in case they surrendered.

“They were constantly asking him where to go, what to do and where to surrender. They even asked him if he managed to arrange good lawyers to bail them out. Syed, however, told them that the incident has made national headlines and they should be on the run till he asks them to return,” said a third source, also a police officer.

“They were constantly keeping a watch on news channels covering the investigation and were getting updates from there. They were monitoring the movement of the UP Police. Also, when their associates were arrested, there was no one to guide the further,” the source said.

“They also revealed they did not expect it to become a pan-India search, with police from Gujarat and Maharashtra getting involved. What got them more scared was when the UP Police announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh each for people who help get them arrested.”

Hussain and Pathan said they feared being lynched by a mob, as their photographs and the CCTV footage in which they could be seen clearly were circulated all over.

“They knew that they could not hide for longer, as their identity was revealed and their pictures circulated. After the announcement of a reward, the duo feared that no local would now help them, and they could also be attacked by an angry mob, so they decided to return,” the third source said.