Cops nab cattle thief, he turns out to be man wanted in Asaram rape witness murder case

Neeraj, who belongs to Kasampur Khola village in Muzaffarnagar district, was on the run since after his name was revealed by alleged contract killer Karthik Haldar who was arrested by Ahmedabad police in March. Haldar, who confessed to have killed three rape case witnesses against Asaram, had reportedly revealed that Neeraj had done the recce and provided all details about Gupta’s movement.

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On Sunday, Deoband police was tipped off about some stolen cows kept in the thickets at Miragpur village that were soon be shifted to some other location.

They rushed to the spot and caught Neeraj while his associate managed to escape. They claimed to have recovered a knife from Neeraj’s possession. Neeraj was booked on charges of cattle theft and under Arms Act. He was produced in a court on Monday, which sent him to judicial custody.

SHO, Deoband police station, Vijendra Singh Yadav said initially Neeraj tried to mislead the police claiming to be a native of Baghpat district. He also showed a fake voter ID card carrying address of Baghpat.

“We verified the details and found the address to be fake. On being questioned at length, he admitted that he belongs to Muzaffarnagar,” the SHO said, adding they later included charge of forgery in the case lodged against Neeraj for possessing fake voter ID card.

“During interrogation, Neeraj confessed that he was on the run since after his role in Gupta’s murder came to light following Haldar’s arrest. Neeraj claimed that he had been hiding at several places, including in Bengaluru, since then. He has confessed to his involvement in Gupta’s murder,” the SHO added.

The Muzaffarnagar police too verified Neeraj’s identity. Station Officer of Nai Mandi police station, Muzaffarnagar, Rojan Tyagi said: “Neeraj was wanted in Gupta murder case. He is accused of providing logistic help to prime accused Karthik Haldar. Neeraj had helped Haldar in recce and provided details about Gupta’s movements. We will move court to seek his remand in the case.”

Neeraj’s father Mam Chandra still lives at his native village in Muzaffarnagar district. Mam Chandra and the villagers, however, told the police that Neeraj was a follower of Asaram and used to stay at his ashram in Ghaziabad. Neeraj had not visited his home for last seven years.

Contacted, Gupta’s father Naresh Gupta said that they would request police to speed up the investigation in the case and find out who other persons were involved apart from Neeraj.