The Hindu : New Delhi News : `Slain lawyer may have known his assailants'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 19, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

`Slain lawyer may have known his assailants'

Staff Reporter

Police to question his brother-in-law Pappu and friend Zahir Khan as the killers had mentioned their names on phone

NEW DELHI: The police suspect that the 32-year-old Supreme Court lawyer, Alakh Singh, who was shot dead by two men at his Vaishali residence in Ghaziabad on Tuesday, probably knew the assailants.

The killers had dropped their mobile phone while fleeing.

According to the police, Alakh Singh, received a call on his mobile phone around 10-30 p.m. in which the caller sought permission to meet him claiming that he had been sent by Zahir Khan, the friend of his brother-in-law, Pappu, to hand over a parcel to him.

An unsuspecting Alakh asked them to come over to his residence.

At the time, his wife, Ruchi, and sister, Pranati, were also at home.

A little later, two persons reached Alakh's house. They introduced themselves and touched his feet, after which the three went inside the house. While they were chatting, Ruchi offered the visitors sweets and water. She then went to the bathroom, while Pranati was in her room when they heard two gunshots.

They rushed to the drawing room and found Alakh bleeding profusely from the chest.

The assailants had fled from the spot by then, but they somehow dropped their mobile phone there. Ruchi immediately called up the police and rushed Alakh to Sarvodaya Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The police said he had sustained one bullet injury, while the other bullet missed him and hit the wall.

Enquiries have revealed that the assailants had come in a Santro car. The police learnt that Alakh had recently taken up a case of property dispute and was representing U.D. Kesharwani against the members of the Gulmohar Park Sehkari Samiti in Noida. In that regard, he had also filed a complaint with the Noida divisional magistrate and a probe into the matter was on.

The police are trying to find out whether the attack on Alakh has anything to do with that case.

The police also suspect that Alakh knew the assailants. As they had mentioned the names of his brother-in-law, Pappu, a resident of Gazipur, and his friend, Zahir Khan, the police are planning to question them.

"Pappu is into marble trade, while Zahir is a contractor," said a senior police officer, adding that the personal enmity angle was also being investigated.

As of now, the police are awaiting the mobile phone records from which they can identify the culprits.

They are also trying to trace the Santro car used in committing the crime.

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