With investigations into the Junaid murder case suggesting that the prime accused was probably not related to the five persons who have been arrested so far, the Haryana Railway Police (HRP) on Monday announced a reward of ₹2 lakh for information leading to his identification and arrest.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (HRP) Mohinder Singh said the interrogation of the five accused, including the one who had started the argument with Junaid and his brothers over a seat, had revealed that the prime accused was not known to them and was probably a daily passenger who got embroiled in the scuffle without any provocation.
Grainy CCTV footage
Police sources said the probe seemed to have hit a roadblock with no major clue recovered except for CCTV footage from a camera outside a bank in Asaoti village that showed three men speeding away on a motorcycle around the time the train halted at Ballabgarh railway station.
Fifteen-year-old Junaid was stabbed to death while his brothers Hasib and Shakir were abused and beaten by a mob between Okhla and Ballabgarh railway stations on June 23.
The scuffle had escalated at Ballabgarh when Junaid’s brother Shakir and his two friends had got onto the train. The prime accused allegedly jumped off the coach after stabbing Junaid and his two brothers when the train halted at Asaoti railway station.
“We suspect that one of three men seen in the footage stabbed Junaid. The accused arrested in the case have also hinted at this. But the footage is of poor quality and the faces are not clear. The registration number of the motorcycle is also not visible,” said Mr. Singh.
The police suspect that the prime accused could be a resident of Asaoti or any of the neighbouring villages.
Sources added that the investigation has also been hampered due to alleged non-cooperation by relatives and neighbours of the four accused, who were arrested by the police on June 28.
All four persons belong to Khambi village in Palwal.
One of them, Rameshwar Sharma, a Delhi government employee, has been accused of starting the argument, but his fellow villagers are up in arms against the police for arresting “innocents”.
‘Witnesses’ not helping
Sources said that several people from the village were in the train coach at the time of incident, but are not cooperating in the probe.
Around half-a-dozen people from Khambi were called for interrogation this past week, but the police failed to get any vital leads from them.
Meanwhile, the police have recovered blood-stained clothes of an accused arrested in the case and sent them for forensic examination to Bhondsi.
