A special CBI court today remanded till 26 March alleged shooter Tabish Khan in police custody in connection with the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood.
Tabish Khan, a cousin of another key accused Shaquib Ali ‘Danger’, was arrested from his Bekanganj residence in Kanpur by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force yesterday. He is the fifth person to be held in the high-profile case.
The alleged shooter was brought from Kanpur before the special CBI court of judicial magistrate Dr Shubhra Singh here, who sent him to police custody, senior public prosecutor Hemant Shukla told reporters here today.
Tabish was brought before the court after obtaining transit remand from Uttar Pradesh, he added. When asked whether the CBI recovered motorcycle and arms used in the alleged murder, Shukla said, “These are matters of investigation under the CBI… it can not be disclosed”. Further, while replying to a query, Shukla said that Tabish was present at the time of murder of Shehla in Bhopal.
Alleged contract killer Irfan, who is the fourth accused in the murder case of the 32-year-old activist, is undergoing polygraph test in Delhi, he said. Irfan, whose police custody was extended till 22 March, had been arrested by Uttar Pradesh police from Talaq Mahal locality in Kanpur on 27 February.
The main accused Zahida Pervez, an interior designer and her friend Saba Farooqui are in judicial custody till 26 March in Indore district. Zahida had recorded her statement in the CBI court, while Saba had refused to come on record. Shaquib had sought 10 days’ time to decide whether to make statements.
Shehla was shot dead outside her residence at posh Koh-e-Fiza locality in Bhopal on 16 August 2011.
—–PTI