Even as no arrests or substantial leads were made in the J. Dey murder case, the police now suspect a possibility of personal enmity behind the killing.
Dey, Editor (special investigation) at MiD Day, was shot dead by unknown assailants in broad daylight on June 11.
The police earlier stated that the murder was due to professional problems.
The police on Friday interrogated 15 more persons. “We are also searching for Raja D. Salve,” a senior police officer told journalists. One of the earlier suspects had told the police of Raja D. Salve's involvement in the crime. Salve is based in Pune and is at present untraceable. “We are searching for him,” police said.
Meanwhile, one person who had admitted to the crime, has now said that he had done it under pressure. Mateen alias Iqbal Hakela had earlier confessed to the crime, the police said, but could not give any verifiable information. On Thursday, the police said they were verifying if he was trying to derail the investigation.
The police interrogated diesel mafia kingpin Mohammed Ali for the second day on Friday. He is now in judicial custody under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) charges.
The police have been allowed to interrogate him till Saturday.
Dey's foreign trips were also under the police scanner now. “He had travelled to England, Ireland and Switzerland between April 25 and May 5 this year. But it was a personal visit and his family and office knew about it,” an officer said.
The police said they would investigate it despite the fact that the trips did not have any bearing on the case till now. Dey was a very secretive person and did not talk much about the stories to his family or boss, the police said.
