NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
Highlights
- Two unknown people at the family wedding the NIA officer attended
- No clear leads yet, investigators probing personal enmity angle as well
- Officer shot at least 16 times, his wife, who survived, was shot twice
There were two unknown persons at the family wedding which National Investigation Agency officer Mohammed Tanzeel attended hours before he was shot dead on Saturday night in Western Uttar Pradesh's Shahaspur town.
"They didn't belong there. When I asked them whose side they represented, the bride's or the groom's, they named my brother-in-law. But they got the name wrong, saying as Iqbal Singh instead of Mohammed Iqbal," said Mohammed Raquib, brother of Mr Tanzil.
Within hours, Mr Tanzil was dead. The officer, who was investigating a host of terror case at the NIA, was shot at least 16 times by two men who came on a bike and intercepted their car. His wife Farzana was shot twice.
The officer was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. His wife is stable.
For now, their two small children are the only eye-witnesses of the murder.
The NIA, the Special Task Force of UP Police and a host of other security agencies have joined hands to investigate the case. But nearly 24 hours later, there are no clear leads.
"We are looking at personal enmity besides other angles," a top official said.
Two automatic weapons were used by the assailants, initial forensic tests suggest.
Asked about a possible terror link to the shooting, Daljit Chowdhry, an Additional Director General of the UP Police, had said, "Nothing can be ruled out".
Officials had said the assailants had apparently been tracking Mr Tanzil's movement for some time.The officer, who was based in Delhi, had gone to Shahaspur on a two-day leave to attend the wedding of his niece.
Mr Tanzeel was originally from the Border Security Force and had joined the NIA on deputation six years ago, soon after it was created. He was investigating the 2007 Wagamon SIMI arms training camp matter and cases against suspected ISIS sympathisers, sources said.