Probe at a standstill in Nandi attack case

The July 12 attack was carried out by triggering an explosive device kept in a Sunny Zip two-wheeler parked near the minister’s residence in Bahadurganj.

In the FIR,Nandi’s cousin Kamal Kesarwani named Chaka block panchayat head Dilip Mishra,with whom Nandi had an old enmity,and his friends Rajesh Yadav and Kripa Shankar as suspects.

While Mishra was then in jail in connection with another case,Rajesh Yadav and Kripa Shanker were arrested within days. According to the police,they said the crime was the result of a conspiracy involving Dilip Mishra,his brothers-in-law Manoj Pande and Jitendra Pande,and his associate Mahendra Mishra who,too,was in jail at the time. Manoj Pande and Jitendra Pande were arrested. Later,another man,Purushottam Dube,was also caught.

According to the police,Dilip Mishra had got the crime executed through Mahendra Mishra’s associate Rajesh Pilot who arranged the vehicle,explosives,the circuit used in making the bomb and the people who executed the crime. Investigating officer Narayan Singh Parihar said no money was paid.

Parihar said everything will be known once Rajesh Pilot is arrested. Allahabad DIG Braj Bhushan said: “The investigation is still on.” The police has announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh on Rajesh Pilot’s head. The police got a lead when it found that the Sunny Zip was registered in Madhya Pradesh and tracked down three men in Jabalpur who had sold it to a man from UP who identified himself as Maharaj.

They gave the police Maharaj’s description and his cellphone number. The description could fit any number of people. As for the cellphone,it had been obtained on a fictitious name and address,and went dead a few days before the blast. Apparently,it was used to buy the vehicle and was discarded afterwards.

Maharaj remains untraced. The police arrested the men from Jabalpur — Subhash Vishwakarma,Mohammad Rafiq and Jai Shanker Vishwakarma — for “participating in a conspiracy”,said the investigating officer.

There were suggestions that Samajwadi Party MLA Vijay Mishra,a relative of Dilip Mishra,could be involved. But the IO says there is no evidence against him.

The case also has some curious features. Of the seven conspirators from Allahabad,two were already jail,one surrendered in court while four were arrested from Allahabad. Normally,a criminal tries to flee after a crime,but not these four men.

Dilip Mishra’s younger brother Pappu alleged Dilip and others had been framed. “The minister has been harassing us since the BSP came to power,” he said. “The district administration had seized my house and now I am staying in a rented accommodation.”

Nandi’s family is not ready to discuss the case. His younger brother Krishna Gopal Gupta said: “The police are conducting the investigation,we don’t want to go into it. Our first priority is that my brother get well soon”.

Nandi,who remained in hospital for 40 days,has shifted to his government house in Lucknow. The doctors have advised two more surgeries,said Krishna Gopal.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
* Did Rajesh Pilot carry out the attack on his own?
* From where did he obtain the explosive?
* Who arranged the Sunny Zip vehicle?
* Who made the explosive device?
* Who planted the vehicle near the minister’s house?
* Who paid for the operation,what amount and how?