The ninth accused in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councilor Hiren Patel in Gujarat’s Dahod was taken into custody by the authorities on 20th March, four years after the incident. The man has been identified as 24-year-old Mohammad Irfan Bisti of Ujjain. He was apprehended by the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He has been evading the police and running a hair salon business along with his wife under a new name in Indore in an attempt to conceal his identity.
This crime has been characterized in the police reports as a “contract killing” and a murder motivated by political rivalry. Hiren Patel, a BJP politician was run down by an automobile on 27th September 2020, around four years ago while out for a morning walk. Amit Katara, the son of former Dahod MP Babubhai Katara and brother of Congress MLA Bhavesh Katara, planned the conspiracy to assassinate Hiren Patel.
Following the death, a case was registered and eight people were nabbed in connection to the instance. The main contract killer turned out to be Imran Gudala from Mewat who executed the conspiracy after taking money from Amit Katara. Irfan’s name transpired after Imran was captured. However, the latter fled as soon as his identity was revealed.
Six of the eight people who were imprisoned were charged by Jhalod police in January 2021 with culpable homicide amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy. “After the incident, they (the accused) fled to Indore. When Irfan realised that his name was out and the police were searching for him, he fled to Khajrana, Indore, and had been hiding there with his wife, using his real name, Irfan Abbas. Irfan started a hair salon with his wife in Indore as a part of their disguise,” stated Deputy Superintendent of Police Harsh Upadhyay.
The official added, “The Gujarat ATS unit received the information about Irfan’s whereabouts, which was also shared with senior officials of Madhya Pradesh ATS. With the help of the Indore unit of Madhya Pradesh ATS, Gujarat ATS Inspector VN Vaghela, along with his team, arrested Irfan Bisti. Upon questioning, Irfan admitted his involvement in the murder of Hiren Patel. A contract amount of Rs. 25,000-plus was promised to Irfan as a deal for the contract killing of Hiren Patel, which he admitted to during the police interrogation.”
According to police, Irfan Bisti travelled from Indore to Jhalod to carry out the murder plot with his accomplices and co-accused parties. The BJP leader went for a daily stroll around six in the morning on the fateful day when the culprits struck the man with an LMV at Jhalod’s Muwada intersection. He suffered fatal injuries as a result of the powerful impact. The assailants, according to the police, undertook a reconnaissance of his usual morning walk route. Hiren Patel served as a corporator at the Jhalod municipality.
