Contract killer working for Naxal group held

Varanasi, Sep 17 (UNI) With the arrest of a contract killer from the Lanka area here, police today claimed to have exposed a nexus between the criminals and Naxals active in Naxalite - infested districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Senior Police Superintendent Ashutosh Pandey told newspersons here Kripa Shankar Tiwari, a contract killer nabbed near the Sankat Mochan crossing under Lanka police station last night was also working for Naxalite extremist group led by Jawahar Bind in naxal-affected region of UP and Bihar.

''This proves that Naxal extremists are hand in glove with criminals in major East UP and Bihar cities and are using shelters of such criminals as their hideouts,'' Mr Pandey claimed.

A revolver, live cartridges and motorcycle were recovered from the crtiminal, who confessed his involvment in several Naxal activities in Bihar, besides the killing of one Shyamu Pahalwan in Varanasi in 1999. He also admitted to abducting Tantan Pathak and Sudama Yadav in Bhabhua (Bihar) in 2001 and a teacher in 2002 in the same district.

Police teams are searching for aides to Kripa Shankar and his borther, who runs a 'Paan' shop near Sankatmochan temple here.

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