The Jharkhand police have arrested one Yunus Ansari in the murder case of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Mukesh Soni, who was shot dead in Ranchi, Jharkhand on December 15.
Speaking at a presser in Ranchi on December 19, the Superintendent of Police, Ranchi Dehat Naushad Alam informed that the police had arrested Yunus Ansari while efforts were on to nab another accused Prince Khan, who had been absconding since the incident.
The SP told the media that Mukesh Soni, who was the Khalari block president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal was returning home after shutting his jewellery shop for the day when he was shot. The event occurred on a bypass road, near Ranchi’s McCluskeyganj town under Khalari police station limits, which is surrounded by jungles. Since the case was extremely sensitive, an SIT was formed to resolve the case, said the SP, adding that the case was registered based on the statement of the father of the deceased, which named both Yunus Ansari and Prince Khan as the accused.
The SP added that the police had recovered the mobile phone used by Yunus Ansari from the crime scene and gathered a slew of other crucial evidence in the case. These pieces of evidence, he confirmed, would be produced before the court. He said that Prince Khan had not been apprehended yet but efforts are on to trace him.
SP Naushad Alam further told the media that during the investigation it was revealed that an old dispute between Mukesh and Yunus was the main reason behind the incident. He confirmed that Yunus Ansari had built a house, which was demolished following Mukesh Soni’s complaint, due to which the former held grudges against the VHP leader.
Brother of VHP leader Mukesh Soni accuses SHO Khalari of corruption
He added that Yunus had some years ago eluded capture in the illegal arms deal case. That time too, a case (number 94/21) was registered against Yunus. Yunus suspected that Mukesh Soni had tipped the police about his illegal arms deal. This coupled with the grudge he held against Soni for the demolition of his house led to the fatal incident, said the SP.
OpIndia spoke to the deceased Mukesh Soni’s brother who told us that, his brother Mukesh was murdered in the same house where the detained suspect Yunus Ansari’s uncle lives. He further revealed that a third defendant will also be present in the court during the hearing of the case, though his identity is yet to be known.
Sagar Soni accused SHO Khalari Farid Alam of being a crook officer. He said that his family had lodged a complaint against the SHO but he was not sure whether any action had been taken against him.
Jharkhand Govt provides a meagre sum of 20,000 to the family of deceased VHP leader as aide
Adding that they have been receiving a lot of assistance from DSP Animesh Nathani, Sagar Soni said that several members of the BJP and various Hindu organizations have been visiting their house regularly. He confirmed receiving rupees twenty-five thousand as financial aid from BJP MLA Samrilal.
The aggrieved brother of the deceased VHP karyakarta lamented that his family had received only Rs 20,000 in the name of assistance from the Hemant Soren led Congress-JMM government in the state. “We are not going to bow down under any circumstances,” said Sagar Soni.
When OpIndia tried to contact the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi, the phone was attended by the officer on duty. He claimed that the SSP was preoccupied with assembly duties and that he was the only person who could provide any information or updates about the case.
It may be recalled that Mukesh Soni, the Khalari block president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal was shot twice at around 6.30 pm on December 15 when he was returning home after shutting his jewellery shop for the day, in Ranchi’s McCluskeyganj town under Khalari police station limits.
The brutal killing was widely condemned by several members of Hindu outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal and BJP leaders who called the murder of the VHP leader nothing but a grim reminder of Hemant Soren’s ‘jungle raj’ in Jharkhand. They had accused the state govt of conspiring to turn Jharkhand into Kerala and West Bengal.
