No beef slur in Junaid killing: Cops
The main killer of 16year-old Junaid Khan has confessed during questioning but there is no indication that the stabbing on a Mathura-bound train involved a beef slur, a Faridabad police official said on Sunday.
The accused, whose identity was withheld, was held on Saturday from Dhule, Maharashtra. He was on the run since the June 22 incident.
SP (railways) Kamaldeep Goyal said in Faridabad, “During his questioning so far, the main accused confessed to having stabbed Junaid and attacking his brothers.” On the claim of the victim’s brothers that they were called “beef eaters”, Mr Goyal said, “No such thing has come to the fore.”
The prime accused in the killing of Junaid Khan onboard a Mathura-bound train was working as a security guard in Delhi and has confessed to stabbing the 17-year old, a senior police official said on Sunday. The accused, who was on the run since June 22, was arrested on Saturday from Dhule district of Maharashtra. The killing of Junaid had triggered a nationwide outrage.
The 30-year old accused was arrested on Saturday from Dhule district of Maharashtra. According to the victim’s brothers, who were also eye witnesses to the lynching, they were called “beef eaters” by the accused. Mr Goyal said, “No such thing has come to the fore during the main accused’s questioning so far.”
He said the accused, whose identity was being withheld pending completion of some legal procedure, had boarded the train from Shivaji bridge station in Delhi.
“During his questioning so far, the main accused has confessed to having stabbed Junaid and attacking his brothers,” he claimed. He will be produced before a court here and his police remand would be sought. “His consent will be sought for Test Identific-ation Parade before court,” Mr Goyal said.
The weapon has not been recovered so far, he said, adding the accused told the police that the knife, with which he attacked Junaid, was in his possession. “It is an open investigation and only after thorough interrogation of the accused will the complete sequence of events in the case come to fore,” Mr Goyal said, replying to a question about sequence of events which led to Junaid’s killing.
“Time limit for this investigation cannot be fixed. Whatever facts we could share have been shared, but in the interest of investigation, revealing more at this stage will not be appropriate. We will share these facts as and when they become clear,” he added.