Man who provided murder weapon held

In the ninth arrest in the J Dey murder the case, the police have caught the man who had provided the weapon used to kill senior crime reporter J Dey.

In the ninth arrest in the J Dey murder the case, the police have caught the man who had provided the weapon used to kill senior crime reporter J Dey.

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Joint commissioner of police, crime, Himanshu Roy said on Tuesday that Deepak Sisodia who had given the .32 mm US-made revolver to alleged Chhota Rajan aide Satish Kalya at Kathgodam, near Nainital, has been apprehended by the Nainital police.

He will be handed over to the crime branch investigating the murder case.

The crime branch had earlier arrested Kalya and six of his associates along with cricket bookie Vinod Chembur.

According to the crime branch, almost 20 days prior to the murder, Kalya had received a call from Rajan, who allegedly asked him to make preparation for a “job”.

He asked him to collect Rs2 lakh from a particular man (an unidentified hawala operator) from Chembur and proceed to Kathgodam to procure the weapon for the hit.

Kalya collected the money and went to Kathgodam with co-accused Arun Dake, where he was given the revolver and 25 rounds.

Dake and Kalya both provided a description of Sisodia during interrogation.

“The information was then passed onto the Nainital police,” he added. The Nainital police then zeroed in on Sisodia who later confessed.

Sisodia is believed to have smuggled the weapon from Nepal, where the Rajan gang has sizeable support base. The person who had allegedly paid Rs2 lakh to Kalya for his journey to Kathgodam has been identified and made a witness in the case. The police had already got a shot in the arm after one of the accused in the case, Arun Dake, recorded his confession before a deputy commisioner of police on Saturday.

The confession is likely to help police in establishing the culpability of the accused.