2 Main Accused In Hindu Outfit Leader Kamlesh Tiwari's Murder Arrested By Gujarat ATS

In a fresh development, the Gujarat Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Tuesday arrested the two main accused in the murder case of the little-known Hindu Samaj Party (HSP) chief Manish Tiwari.

Both Ashfaq and Moinuddin are residents of Surat and were absconding.

Ahmedabad: In a fresh development, the Gujarat Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Tuesday arrested the two main accused in the murder case of the little-known Hindu Samaj Party (HSP) chief Manish Tiwari. According to reports, both Ashfaq Hussain and Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan were arrested by the Gujarat ATS near Shamlaji at the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. "The two wanted accused Ashfaq and Moinuddin Pathan have been arrested from Gujarat-Rajasthan border near Shamlaji. Gujarat ATS had info that they are going to enter Gujarat, on that basis we moved our team to the border and apprehended them," Gujarat ATS DIG Himanshu Shukla told news agency ANI. Both Ashfaq and Moinuddin are residents of Surat and were absconding. The ATS, had on October 19, arrested three accused in the case including Ashfaq’s younger brother Rasheed, Faizan Sheikh and Maulana Mohsin. Police officials say that the two accused have confessed to killing Kamlesh Tiwari. "The accused committed the murder after Kamlesh Tiwari commented on Prophet Mohammed," Police said. Reportedly, the two accused had run off to Nepal, but they returned to India as they ran out of money. They were arrested after attempt to contact their relatives, who were under vigil.

The Gujarat ATS will hand over the accused to UP Police after the due procedure. Earlier in the day, UP Police stated that Ashfar had allegedly forged his colleague Rohit Solanki's Aadhaar card to assume a new identity to portray himself as a member. He also changed the birth date on the Aadhaar card. Tiwari (45), who headed HSP, was killed at his home in Naka Hindola area in Lucknow on October 18. The initial probe into the killing highlighted that Ashfaq was the mastermind behind the murder plan and was on the run along with another suspect Moinuddin. Solanki told reporters that he had no idea about Shaikh's acts before his name cropped up in the murder. A sixth person has been arrested by ATS in Maharashtra, according to news agency PTI. Identified as 29-year-old Sayed Asim Ali, state police said he had organised a protest against Mr Tiwari in the past and had threatened him via a YouTube video. Tiwari's family met UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his office in Lucknow on Sunday and demanded capital punishment for his killers. The Chief Minister, who earlier called the killing "an act of mischief to create terror", assured them of justice. On Saturday Kamlesh Tiwari's mother and son spoke out against the investigation into his death, with his mother alleging her son was killed by a local politician over a land dispute and his son demanding the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).