‘Don’t trust anyone’: Son of murdered Hindu outfit leader wants NIA probe

The son of murdered Hindu outfit leader Kamlesh Tiwari on Saturday made a case for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe how his father was killed in Lucknow.

“We want the NIA to probe the case. We do not trust anyone. My father was killed although he had security guards. How can we possibly trust the administration then?” Satyam Tiwari, whose father was knifed and shot multiple times on Friday, was reported as saying by news agency ANI.

Hindu Samaj Party’s leader Kamlesh Tewari was attacked when he was sitting inside an office near his house in the Khursheed Bagh area in Lucknow yesterday.

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The police said the men shot at Tewari and slit his throat as well. The police added the assailants had hidden their weapons in a sweet box.

Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said the murder of 52-year-old Tiwari was a fallout of “communal hate”.

Tewari was involved in a controversy after his objectionable remarks on Muslims in 2014 and 2015. He was given a security cover since then.

Investigation into the case has led to the arrest of three men.

The arrested men have been identified as Maulana Sheikh Salim, 24, a worker at a saree shop; Faizan, a 21-year-old shoe shop worker; and tailor Rashid Ahmad alias Rashad Pathan, 23.

The state government has constituted a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had also sought a detailed report on the incident from the additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi and DGP Singh.

Several saints in Ayodhya also expressed concern over the murder of Kamlesh Tewari. The Ayodhya Sant Samaj and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have demanded proper probe in the incident and capital punishment of killers.