AGRA: Resident of Kadarwadi village under Soron police station in Kasganj district of UP, Arun Kumar Maurya, 18, one of the three men involved in the killings of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, had shifted to his grandfather’s house in Vikas Nagar, Panipat, Haryana, three years ago.
Arun’s father, Deepak Maurya, used to sell pan-puri in his Kasganj village. On getting information about his son being involved, Deepak, along with wife, younger son (12) and daughter (14) has disappeared, locking the house.
"Records are being checked to find out any past criminal history of Arun. The entire matter is being investigated in detail," said SP (Kasganj) Saurabh Dixit.
He added: "We have established contact with Arun's family. Our teams are trying to gather other details regarding his recent activities over the past few months. He had been living in Panipat and had no criminal record in Kasganj. We are coordinating with the Prayagraj police and other agencies. Police force has been deployed in the village for security purpose."
Village pradhan Prabhat Kumar Saxena, 60, said" "Working as a labourer in Panipat, Deepak Maurya had returned to Kasganj 10 years ago. They live in a one-room house. The roof of the house was laid two years ago. He is a poor man and never even spoke harshly with anyone. We are shocked by the crime committed by his son. Deepak also owns 1.5 bigha agricultural land and to sustain his family had been selling pani-puri in the village."
Saxena further said, "Arun was living in Panipat at his grandfather's house. His grandfather, Mathura Prasad, used to work at a factory in Panipat and settled there after his retirement. Arun hardly stayed with his parents and had no friends in the village. He was always very reserved and hardly spoke with anyone whenever he used to come home."
A neighbour of the accused, requesting anonymity, added: "Arun had permanently shifted to Panipat three years ago. He last visited the village six months back. He had a fracture in hand at that time. After spending three days, he went back to Panipat. We came to know about his involvement in the killings of Ahmed brothers via news on TV. His parents along with younger brother and sister left after locking their home early in the morning before the arrival of police."
An FIR registered by Prayagraj police on page number 8 mentions that Arun along with two others on being asked about the reason behind the murder of Ahmed brothers said that they wanted to finish the gang operated by the former lawmakers.
"We wanted to bring recognition to our name which would definitely benefit us in future", he said.
A senior IPS officer, privy to the case, said that the use of a Zigana F (automatic) and a Girsan 9MM parabellum (Regard MC) pistol indicates that the men were "hired by a big gang to carry out the assassination".
Meanwhile, police in Panipat are also trying to collect details on Arun who had a case registered against him there, last year. Rakesh Sharma, SHO of Industrial Area (Sector 29) told TOI, "Arun was caught carrying an illegal weapon last year. An FIR was registered against him under the Arms Act."
