Police in fix after second confession

The disclosure by Haryana police constable Tariff Khan that he killed constable Devinder, posted at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi, has confused the state police. Prabhu Razdan reports.

The disclosure by Haryana police constable Tariff Khan that he killed constable Devinder, posted at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi, has confused the state police.

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The reason behind this confusion is that the police have already arrested another constable, named Niraj Kumar, for Devinder's murder.

"Soon after Devinder's burnt body was found in some bushes in Faridabad in February, we arrested three men, including constable Niraj Kumar," a police officer from Hassanpur in Palwal district said. Devinder was a resident of Hassanpur and was kidnapped from his village in February. His charred body was found in Faridabad.

Haryana police constable Tariff Khan had made his disclosure after his arrest on June 1. He was arrested in connection with the kidnap and murder of one Ankit Deshwal, a 25-year-old mechanical engineer.

Khan told the investigators that he killed both Devinder and Ankit with an intention of making ransom calls to their families after their murder. But Devinder's family had already identified his body, so the accused wasn't able to make any ransom demand.

In Ankit's case, Khan said he made a ransom call on May 23 whereas the kidnapping took place on April 6 and his burnt body found on April 7. But the family hadn't been able to identify the body in this case.

Regarding Khan's claim, a senior officer of Hassanpur police said, "We have arrested genuine persons, including Niraj Kumar, for their connection with Devinder's murder. But we will confront both Khan and Niraj Kumar after seeking a production warrant for Khan."