A man with an unusual limp and a constable with a sharp memory were the crucial pointers that led to the police cracking the murder of Rudresh, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in the city.
For the first three days after Rudresh was hacked by two unidentified men on a motorcycle on Kamaraj Road, while on his way back from an RSS programme on October 16, the police had very few clues to go by.
The CCTV footage in the area was too blurred to reveal the faces of the two attackers, and the motorcycle they used did not have registration plates.
“Moreover, we were stretched trying to preserve law and order in the area,” said Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh to presspersons on Thursday.
In the days following the murder, thousands of people from the BJP, the RSS, and affiliated organisations held a rally in the area demanding the speedy arrest of the culprits.
Meanwhile, the CCTV footage was sent to forensic labs to sharpen the images. A week later, even as political pressure mounted, the police got a break.
On analysing the footage, the Commercial Street police observed two men, in the background, walking away suspiciously after the incident. While others looked shocked and some even ran towards Rudresh to help him, these two men casually exited the scene.
“They became suspects, and one of the men was walking with a distinct limp. A constable from the Commercial Street Police Station said he recognised the limp,” said Mr. Megharikh.
The constable recalled that a man who walked with a similar gait worked as mechanic in a shop in the area. He identified him as Mohammad Majibullah.
Later that day, Majibullah was picked up for questioning and he revealed his associates, Irfan Pasha, Mohammad Mazar, and Wasim Ahmed.
They work as either mechanics or roadside vendors, and do not have previous cases filed against them.
However, there could be more persons behind the murder. A senior police official said the murder seemed to have been done with elaborate planning. “We are on the lookout for others who may have been involved in the conspiracy,” said the official.
