Nearly two weeks after a senior journalist was gunned down in the Siwan town of Bihar, the police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested five persons involved in the murder. On the demand of the family members of the slain journalist, the State government had recommended a CBI inquiry into the incident.
Rajdeo Ranjan, who was heading the Siwan bureau of a national Hindi newspaper, was gunned down on the night of May 13 at the fruit market on the station road, an area close to his office. He was shot between his eyes and in the chest from close range, which resulted in his instant death.
“The police have arrested five persons in connection with the murder and recovered a 7.65 bore country-made pistol and three motorcycles. However, the motive behind the murder is not clear yet and interrogation is still going on,” said Sunil Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters), in Patna. Earlier, the Siwan district police had said that a 9 mm pistol was used to kill the journalist.
Accused admits to crime
The police officer said Rohit Kumar had admitted that he fired at the journalist. Meanwhile, police sources in Siwan told The Hindu that Rohit Kumar had admitted during interrogation that he was paid Rs.15,000 and given a weapon by Laddan Mian to kill the journalist.
