Four of Neeraj ‘killers’ held in Karnataka

After a night-long chase, Hyderabad police nabbed the four persons, who hacked Neeraj Panwar (20) to death, near Gurumitkal in Yadgir district of Karnataka in the early hours of Saturday.<SU> Soon after they attacked and killed Neeraj in the bylanes of Feelkhana at Begum Bazaar, the accused, B. Rohit Yadav (18), K Vijay Yadav (22), K Sanjay Yadav (25), Mahesh Aheer Yadav (21), Abhinandan Yadav (26) and a minor boy fled from the spot.<SU> As per their plan, they went to Pargi in Vikarabad district on their two-wheelers, and, after abandoning the vehicles there, they boarded buses, sought lift and reached an isolated place near Gurumitkal. “They took shelter for a few hours before they were nabbed by our team,” a senior officer associated with the investigation of the case told The Hindu.<SU> However, police managed to nab only Rohit, Vijay, Sanjay, and the minor while Abhinandan, the minor boy, and a few others suspects are at large.<SU> “At least 10 persons planned the attack, while six were on the ground and others were guiding them,” the officer said. Of the six, one person belongs to the Maratha community, and he was their friend. “I guess he was not aware of the full plan. After seeing them attacking Neeraj, he panicked and started to run here and there. It is clearly visible in the CCTV camera footage,” he said.<SU> The arrested were being interrogated at Mangalhat police station on how long they were planning the murder, who all were involved, where and when they purchased the weapons, and how long they were tracking Neeraj, a resident of Kolsawadi. His family runs a wholesale groundnut business at Feelkhana.<SU> Announcing the arrests on Saturday evening, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West zone) D Joel Davis said “since their marriage, the couple had been staying in a rented house at Shamsheergunj to avoid conflict with the family members of Sanjana, who also live in Kolsawadi.”<SU> Recently, Neeraj started going to the shop to help his father, and his frequent movements in the area had provoked the family members of Sanjana, he said.<SU> “As Sanjana got married to Neeraj against their wishes, the family felt humiliated. And more over they got provoked by Neeraj’s presence in the area. So, they hatched a conspiracy to eliminate him,” he said. When asked how and when the accused hatched the conspiracy, Mr. Davis said that about 15 days ago, the accused consumed alcohol and decided to kill Neeraj. “For the last three days they had been actively pursuing to attack Neeraj.<SU> They conducted a recce of the area and on Friday evening Sanjay followed Neeraj, and alerted others,” he said. He was travelling on a bike with his grandfather Jagadish Prasad Panwar as pillion. When they reached Feelkhana, the accused intercepted them, and Sanjay attacked them with a boulder. Later they hacked Neeraj to death with sickles, which had been purchased in Jumerat Bazar, the DCP said.<SU> The officer said that seven teams were formed to identify and nab the attackers. “We are still on the job to nab the absconding persons.” Earlier, Mr. Joel said, family members of Sanjana had been counselled by the Afzal Gunj police.<SU>