Six of family murdered: Killer roamed around with Delhi BSP leader after eliminating his wife, kids

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 23, 2017: Lodged in Tihar Jail in a rape case registered against him in 2015, BSP leader Chaudhary Munawwar Hassan headed straight for home after being released on bail on May 17. While in jail, he had already been informed that his wife and four children had not been seen since April 20.

It took Hassan little time to realise that his family, that included two daughters, was in danger. The next morning, he drove to the local Burari police station and got a missing complaint registered.

Two days later, Hassan was found murdered at his home in North Delhi’s Burari. Investigation revealed that his wife and four children too were killed and buried a month earlier, allegedly by Hassan’s friend and business partner, Sahid Khan alias Bunty.

From the bail process to the search for his family, Bunty was the one helping Hassan. Little did Hassan know that Bunty was just looking for an opportunity to eliminate him, allegedly to grab the disputed properties owned by the BSP leader, said police.

Hassan was found shot dead in the bathroom of his flat in Burari’s Bhagat Colony on Saturday morning. Located on the second floor of the building, the residential flat is a disputed one. Phool Singh, who owns the building, alleges that Hassan had wrested the property illegally from him, forcing him to go on a long legal battle against him.

The police had been informed about the murder by none other than Bunty. “Bunty had been visiting Hassan’s home frequently for the last one month. But he wasn’t at Hassan’s home at the time of the murder,” said Singh.

When a police team arrived at the murder spot on Saturday, they found Hassan lying across the bathroom. Finding a bullet wound in his back, police rushed him to a hospital, but he could not be saved.

Police registered a murder case and began questioning Bunty about the circumstances in which he visited Hassan’s home and found him dead. “Bunty said he had been repeatedly calling Hassan on his phone but was not receiving any response because of which he decided to visit his house and check on him. But his statements were inconsistent,” said Jatin Narwal, DCP (North).

When grilled, Bunty allegedly confessed to using contract killers to get Hassan shot dead. “Bunty had made sure he stayed away from the scene at the time of the murder so that he was not under our radar of suspicion,” said the DCP.

Interrogated further about Hassan’s wife and children, he allegedly confessed to getting them murdered as well. Allegedly confessing about his modus operandi, Bunty said he got friendly with Hassan’s family during the politician’s time in jail even as he waited for the right time to strike.

“Sometime in the second half of April, Bunty tricked Hassan’s wife and two daughters into accompanying him to the family’s village in Meerut saying there was some family emergency,” said an investigator.

But Hassan allegedly never took them to their home. Hassan’s 40-year-old wife, Ishrat, and daughters Arju, 19, and Arshi, 15, were allegedly shot dead and buried in the fields along the highway in Uttar Pradesh, Bunty has told police during interrogation.

He then immediately returned to Delhi and got Hassan’s sons, 20-year-old Aaquib and Shakib, 16, tied up and strangulated, Bunty has allegedly told police. He then allegedly got them buried in one of the few disputed properties owned by Hassan, a walking distance from his home.

Bunty has claimed that he used two contract killers, Feroz and Zulfiqar, to carry out the killings, but police said they needed to verify whether Bunty was also physically involved in any of the murders.

While the bodies of the three women were yet to be found, police on Monday night dug out the skeletal remains of Hassan’s two sons, the DCP said. A team has also been sent to Uttar Pradesh to exhume the bodies of Hassan’s wife and two daughters.

The police have formally arrested Bunty, his employee Deepak and the two suspected contract killers. They are in police custody as investigators seek to go deeper into the entire crime.

Courtesy: Hindustantimes