Aide held in murder case, Zira questions timing of arrest
FARIDKOT :Police arrested Neeraj Kumar alias Ginni, a proclaimed offender in a 2013 murder case and a close aide of Congress MLA Kulbir Singh Zira, in Moga late Monday night.
Zira, who admitted Neeraj to be his supporter, questioned the timing of the arrest.
A .32 bore licensed revolver and 20 cartridges were recovered from Ginni, a resident of Zira subdivision in Ferozepur district, police said. He is considered the right-hand man of Zira.
On Tuesday, he was produced in a local court which sent him to one-day police remand.
The development comes at a time when the Zira MLA is in the news for targeting the police, especially inspector general (IG Ferozepur range) Mukhwinder Singh Chhina, for having a nexus with the liquor and drug mafia at the oath-taking ceremony of recently elected sarpanches and panches. He has been issued a show-cause notice by the state Congress over this.
In 2015, the Moga district and sessions court had declared Neeraj a proclaimed offender in the case involving the murder of Moga-based photographer Rajesh Kaura (34). Kaura was found injured in his studio in September 2013. He later succumbed to injuries at a hospital.
On the statement of his wife, police had registered a case of murder and named Neeraj as an accused.
“He was wrongly framed in the case by the then Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD government. He was later given a clean chit in an inquiry conducted by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP)-rank official. Neeraj didn’t bother much as he got a clean chit,” said Zira.
A senior official said police were reluctant to arrest Neeraj as was given shelter by Zira and other Congress leaders. But when Zira started levelling false allegations, they found appropriate time to score a goal against Zira, he added.
Zira on Monday had met Punjab director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora seeking a fresh investigation into 29 cases registered against his supporters in Ferozepur district. The DGP has marked an inquiry into this.