Suspects were in touch with Tiwari through fake fb account
LUCKNOW: The two suspected killers, Sheikh Ashfaq Hussain and Pathan Moinudeen Ahmad, both natives of Surat (Gujarat), were in touch with Hindu Samaj Party’s (HSP) national president Kamlesh Tiwari for the last two months through fake profiles on social media and phone on the pretext of joining his organisation, said police.
“Apart from Tiwari, the two assailants were also in touch with some office-bearers of Hindu Samaj Party in Gujarat, posing as Hindus,” said a senior police official.
One of the two suspects, Ashfaq, had created a fake identity of Rohit Solanki on his facebook account, but used his original pictures. He posted multiple content related to Hindu religion and also ‘liked’ and shared Tiwari’s posts to increase proximity with him, he said.
“The other suspect, Moinudeen, called Tiwari multiple times with a request to join his organisation in Gujarat and expressed desire to meet him. He fixed a meeting with Tiwari at his residence before coming to Lucknow and even called him on Thursday night in this regard,” said the official.
The official said the two suspects came to Lucknow in a planned manner and were even clad in saffron kurtas to pose as Hindu activists for easy access to Tiwari’s house.
HINDU LEADERS ON SUSPECT’S FRIEND LIST
Police investigations also revealed that many other people associated with Hindu outfits were on the friends list of the suspect’s fake facebook account.
“As many as 420 people are on the friends list of the suspect’s fake account and most of them were related to Hindu outfits,” said a senior police official.
SUSPECT TREATED AT BAREILLY HOSPITAL
One of the two alleged suspects apparently injured himself while attacking Kamlesh Tiwari with a knife and visited a hospital near Bareilly railway station on Friday night for treatment after leaving Lucknow.
Forensic experts, who examined the hotel room in Lucknow’s Lalkuan where the two suspects stayed, hinted that one of the suspects was injured, said a senior police official.
“The experts found bloodstains on the saffron kurtas, knife and a towel. They were of the opinion that the stains found on the towel were of one of the two assailants,” he said.
“The doubts of injury caused to one of the suspects get more strengthened as their video footage is also found in CCTV camera of a private hospital in Bareilly district,” he added.
The official said some officials of UP STF reached the Bareilly hospital while tracking the suspect’s movement through electronic surveillance and found they stayed near Bareilly railway station for a while but their location kept changing most of the time.
The hospital staff confirmed that one of the suspects got his injuries – treated, he said.
SUSPECTS’ LAST LOCATION IN AMBALA
After executing Kamlesh Tiwari’s killing in Lucknow, the two assailants immediately left Lucknow and boarded a train from Charbagh railway station to Delhi on Friday afternoon, said police. However, they changed the train in Bareilly to reach Delhi and later moved ahead towards Jammu and Kashmir.
Their last location was tracked in Ambala, after which police agencies could not trace their movement, added cops.
Earlier, the suspects’ locations were tracked in Bareilly and Moradabad, after they left Lucknow.