Kamlesh Tiwari murder case: Family meets Adityanath, demands for statue

Lucknow, Oct 20: The family of Kamlesh Tiwari, the president of a little-known Hindu Samaj Party who was murdered at his home in Khurshed Bagh under the Naka Hindola police station area in Lucknow, met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday.

The slain Hindu outfit leader's family demanded the installation of a statue of the founder of the HSP in Lucknow's Kurshedbagh where he was killed and naming of a road after him in the area ahead of their meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

HSP leaders threatened to launch an agitation if their demands were not fulfilled. They alleged that state government failed to provide security to Tiwari even after threat.

According to reports, Yogi, who earlier condemned the murder, will be meeting the family members at his official residence on Sunday in Lucknow. The Chief Minister could not meet the family on Saturday as he was in Maharashtra for the assembly election campaign and returned to the state in the evening.

This comes even as the family of Kamlesh Tiwari has demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the killing, saying that "they do not trust anyone."

The son of fringe Hindu leader, had demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"We want the National Investigation Agency to investigate the case, we do not trust anyone," Satyam Tiwari was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "My father was killed although he had security guards, how can we possibly trust the administration then?"

Condemning the incident, Yogi had said that such incidents are "unacceptable" and people involved in the case will not be spared.

A lesser-known outfit called the Al-Hind Brigade claimed responsibility late on Friday night for the murder of the Hindu Samaj Party president, though the authenticity of the claim could not immediately be verified.

Earlier on Saturday, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra police arrested a man from Mominpura locality here in connection with the murder of former Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari, an official said.

The ATS official said the arrest was made on the basis of leads provided by the the Uttar Pradesh Police. He did not reveal the name of the arrested person. Tiwari (45), leader of the lesser-known Hindu Samaj Party (HSP) who was earlier associated with a faction of the Hindu Mahasabha, was killed at his home in Lucknow on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Police had said that five persons, including three from Gujarat's Surat, had been held in connection with the murder.

The suspects were "radicalised" and appeared to have targeted Tiwari for his inflammatory remarks made in 2015, the police said. "So far, there is no terror angle associated with this incident," Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O P Singh said in Lucknow.

Among the arrested were Bijnor residents Mohammed Mufti Naeem Kazmi and Imam Maulana Anwarul Haq, who were booked on murder charge on Friday after Tiwari's wife named them in her police complaint alleging that the duo had announced a bounty of Rs 1.5 crore on his head in 2016. However, Tiwari's mother Kusuma alleged that he was killed by a "local BJP leader" due to a temple dispute in a village.

Three persons detained in Surat by Gujarat Anti- Terrorist Squad were identified as Faizan Yunus Bhai, Maulana Mohsin Sheikh and Rashid Ahmed Khursheed Ahmed Pathan.