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Bihar Police set up SIT to nab killers of IndiGo’s Patna station manager
Police said the killers seemed to be professional hit men but have so far not been able to ascertain the identity of the shooters or who hired them.
The Bihar police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the murder of IndiGo station manager at the Patna airport, Rupesh Kumar Singh who was shot dead Tuesday evening in one of the state capital’s high-security areas, a top police officer said Wednesday.
According to Additional Director General (headquarters) Jitendra Kumar, an SIT under the leadership of city SP Vijay Tiwary has been constituted and Patna range IG Sanjay Singh is monitoring the case. A forensic team also collected evidence from the scene of the crime as well as the SUV in which Singh was shot.
Police said the killers seemed to be professional hit men.
The police have so far not been able to ascertain the identity of the killers or who hired them.
A senior police official said that the reasons behind the killing are still not clear but it could involve airport related tenders and personal dispute. A police team has been sent to Singh's Jalalpur residence in Chhapra district, about 100 km north of Patna, as part of the probe.
Another police team collected details, information about Singh and recorded the statements of his colleagues and other employees at the Patna airport. Police suspect that someone hired an assassin to eliminate Singh.
Police have scanned nearby CCTV footage from cameras on apartments, shops and examined the victim’s call data records.
The incident triggered panic among citizens and over 2,000 policemen were deployed to maintain law and order in the area. The spot where the murders took place is located near a high-security zone that includes chief minister Nitish Kumar’s official residence, the Bihar police headquarters and state secretariat.
Singh was gunned down in front of his apartment on Shankar Path at Punaichak area at around 7.15 pm on Tuesday. Singh had returned from duty on his new SUV and was waiting for the guard to open the main gate when two motorcycle borne assailants pumped several bullets into his body and sped away.
Police suspect the killers tailed Singh from the airport. The victim who was shot in the neck and chest died on the spot. Five CCTV cameras of the apartment were non-functional. A nearby CCTV captured a grainy image of the motorcyclist.
Police found six empty cartridges from the spot and a mobile phone from Singh’s car.
Another police official said they have received some clues about the criminals but are yet to identify the culprits.
Villagers of Jalalpur had threatened to block the national highway and hold protests if the police failed to arrest the accused within seven days. Singh’s father retired from Kolkata police while his elder brother runs a skill development centre in Jalalpur.
Villagers said that Singh had political ambitions and wanted to fight the assembly election from the Marhaura seat on a BJP ticket. He was reportedly close to many BJP leaders including Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Sushil Modi.
“We are in utter shock after the incident. Police should arrest the criminals immediately and ensure that such incidents do not happen in future,” said agriculture minister, Amrendra Pratap Singh.
Vivek Thakur, Rajya Sabha member, also expressed concern over the incident. “Police should intensify night patrolling in the city to avoid such incidents,” he added.
Attacking the NDA government over the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar, Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said, "The incident took place in the VIP area, which is considered the safest zone in Patna. Even with the CM's house nearby and all roads equipped with CCTV, such incidents are happening. The crime graph is soaring in the state since this government came to power."
"The area where the chief minister lives is considered a VVIP zone and even when the CM reviews law and order five times within 45 days, criminals have the courage to shoot the IndiGo manager," said CPI leader and Paliganj MLA Sandeep Sourabh.
"This says it all about the current law and order situation in the state. People of the state are living in fear and criminals are having a free run," said Congress MLC Premchand Mishra.
