BJP MP will be quizzed in RTI activist killing

More than a fortnight after the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood, the Bhopal police said on Thursday that it would question BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay in connection with the case.

More than a fortnight after the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood, the Bhopal police said on Thursday that it would question BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay in connection with the case.

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An unidentified assailant shot Masood, 39, on August 16 in Bhopal. Sources said the police investigation had revealed that Masood and Vijay knew each other. "We would be sending our team to New Delhi to talk to Tarun Vijay regarding investigations in the case," said Bhopal senior superintendent of police Yogesh Chaudhary.

At a press meet in New Delhi, Vijay, a Rajya Sabha MP, said Masood was a "very good friend". "She was associated with many Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Foundation programmes as event manager… It is natural investigating agencies will contact all who knew her."

Vijay heads the foundation.

The BJP leader refused to take questions on Masood’s murder on the grounds that the matter was under investigation.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh said, "Now that Tarun Vijay’s name has come up in this case, I think he and the chief minister (BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan) should hand over the case to the CBI."

With agency inputs