3 more arrested in Hisar dairy operator murder

The arrests came a day after an ultimatum issued by Khap panchayats and farmer unions demanding the arrest of all the culprits involved in the murder

Hisar police on Thursday have arrested three more accused in the murder of dairy operator Jeevan Kundu, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to seven.

Three accused had already been taken into custody earlier. (HT File)

The arrests came a day after an ultimatum issued by Khap panchayats and farmer unions demanding the arrest of all the culprits involved in the murder.

According to the police, the arrested men have been identified as Gajendra, alias Gaju Pandit, a resident of Bhatla, Sahil Kumar a resident of Singwa Ragho village and Bhanu Kumar, a resident of Bass Badshahpur village.

Police described Gaju Pandit as a key accused in the case. Three accused had already been taken into custody earlier. The arrests followed sustained pressure from local khap representatives and farmer organisations. On Wednesday, these groups had given the police until August 13 to apprehend the remaining suspects and warned that failure to act would lead to protests, including disruption of toll plazas and opposition to chief minister Nayab Singh Saini’s programme scheduled for August 15 in Hansi.

The family members had made it clear that the last rites of Jeevan Kundu would not be performed until the main accused were arrested. According to Hisar superintendent of police Siddhant Jain 10 specialised police teams have been formed and the police teams are conducting raids across states and possible hideouts. A cash reward of ₹50,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of the principal accused, Ramesh Sharma of Suryanagar.