20 October,2016 08:40 AM IST | | Suraj Ojha
Four days after Bhupendra Vira’s murder, cops have secured a confession and also recovered the ‘murder weapon’ from his house
Ex-corporator Razzak Khan and deceased Bhupendra Vira
Looks like RTI activist Bhupendra Vira's family was right about his murder being the handiwork of the tainted politician Razzak Khan and his son, Amjad Khan. Four days after Vira was shot dead in his home in Kalina, the younger Khan yesterday confessed that he was the one who pulled the trigger.
Double whammy
Razzak - former Congress corporator from Kalina - and Amjad were arrested on Monday in connection with the murder. On the very day the case was transferred form the Vakola police to the Crime Branch Unit 8, Amjad cracked during the interrogations, and admitted to shooting Vira with a pistol. Cops also found a pistol and five live cartridges at the Khan residence in Vakola. In his statement to the police, Amjad said this was the murder weapon. This is a major breakthrough in the investigation, as so far, the police had suspected that the murder was executed by a hitman.
Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Kalina RTI activist shot dead in cold blood; two arrested
Old feud
mid-day had yesterday highlighted how Vira had a target on his back because of his activism, much of which was directed at Razzak. Vira had filed several complaints against illegal structures in Kalina, many of which belonged to Razzak (âSlain activist had secured 100 notices in 6 months against illegal structures').
In addition, just months before his murder, the activist had also exposed the politician's criminal history using the Right To Information Act.
The response to Vira's RTI query (mid-day has a copy) revealed that there were a total of nine cases filed against Razzak and his family. Razzak's older son Anwar had one case registered against him. His younger son, Amjad, and one of his trusted employees had two cases registered against them in the records of Vakola police station.
Read Story: Slain activist Bhupendra Vira had secured 100 notices in 6 months against illegal structures in Kalina
The charges range from physical assault and cheating, to trespassing and criminal intimidation.
The Khan was allegedly also involved in several land grabbing cases, including one of Vira's properties - a steel godown. Vira was even attacked by the family and had filed several complaints against Razzak and his children.
