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2 arrested in UP businessman death case; hunt on for top cop
The Mahoba businessman was found dead with a bullet wound in his neck in mysterious circumstances.
Two accused named in Uttar Pradesh businessman Indrakant Tripathi’s mysterious death case were arrested on Friday while raids were being carried out for the arrest of Mahoba’s suspended superintendent of police (SP) Manilal Patidar and inspector Devendra Sharma—both co-accused in the case-- said inspector general of police (IG), Chitrakoot Dham, K Satyanarayan.
The IG said that police teams carried out raids at several places in Gujarat and Rajasthan in search of the two officers.
On Friday, police arrested local businessmen Purshottam Soni and Balram, named in the FIR by Tripathi’s brother Ravikant for their alleged involvement in the extortion racket purportedly being run by Patidar, the suspended Mahoba SP.
The arrests came following the report of the special investigation team (SIT), which indicted the SP and some others for driving Tripathi allegedly to the brink, forcing the trader to take his own life.
Also Read: UP businessman murder case: SIT focuses on big guns named for ‘extortion’
Tripathi had alleged that he was under pressure from the SP to pay a monthly bribe of Rs 6 lakh. When he went public with the bribe demand, then he was allegedly threatened by Patidar to implicate him in a gambling case.
Tripathi was found dead with a bullet wound in his neck on September 8, two days after he released a video addressed to the chief minister. In the video, he levelled allegations of corruption against the SP, a Gujarat cadre officer deputed in UP, and feared that he may get him killed.
The SIT, in its finding, has prima facie ruled out murder and concluded that Tripathi might have died by suicide under serious pressure.
Another SIT constituted at the IG level to help the investigating officer, too, has indicated the same finding.
