Three more held in connection with Firozabad RSS pracharak’s murder

Pawan was arrested soon after the murder and police claimed he had confessed to his involvement and named Anil and Ram. Before the media, however, Pawan had claimed he had not confessed and was under pressure.

Pawan, who owns a medical store in the city, and his friend Ashwani are presently lodged in the district jail. Monday’s arrests were based on a tip-off, said Uttar police station house officer Ravindra Kumar.

“During questioning, Anil and Ram confessed to having murdered Sandeep Sharma. Vipin admitted that he played role of mediator between shooters and Pawan. The shooters said they were promised Rs 2 lakh and received Rs 1.65 lakh as advance. Police recovered a diary from Anil carrying a note about Rs 1.65 paid by Pawan,” said Firozabad SSP Sachindra Patel. “There is evidence against the accused confirming their involvement in the crime. We have decided to invoke NSA and Gangster Act against all the accused.”

The victim Sandeep Sharma was a pramukh of RSS’s Paryavaran unit. On July 3, he was shot dead near his house by two motorcycle-borne assailtants.

SSP Patel said that during questioning Pawan had told police that Sharma had been circulating rumours of an extramarital affair involving him. “Pawan said he then paid the shooters to kill Sharma,” said Patel.