Zia-ul-Haque (file image)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the murders of a village headman, his brother, and Kunda's Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haque, today got the custody of two close aides of former state minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiya.
A special court sent Rajeev Singh and Sanjay Singh alias Guddu Singh to five-day CBI custody from March 13. They were arrested by the state police on March 4.
Mr Haque was killed on March 2 after he reached Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh where the village headman, Nanhe Yadav, had been shot. An angry mob reportedly cornered him, and eight policemen who were with Zia-ul-Haq allegedly abandoned him. Three bullets were fired - one killed Zia-ul-Haque; two others killed Yadav's brother.
There were, reportedly, 300 people present when the murders happened. Many of them have disappeared to avoid being questioned.
Raja Bhaiya is accused of conspiring in the murder of Mr Haque. He has denied any link to the case, and resigned as minister in the Uttar Pradesh government a few days ago. The CBI has not indicated how quickly it will question Raja Bhaiya, who was neither interrogated nor arrested by the UP Police.
The biggest challenge for the CBI team is convincing the villagers that witnessed the murders to testify. The 10-member CBI team in Kunda has appealed to villagers to come forward as witnesses. In a press release, the CBI, which has set up a camp office and a helpline number in Pratapgarh, has assured the villagers against any kind of harassment.