india

Updated: Apr 18, 2019 01:13 IST

Personal enmity led to the murder of Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) leader Ajay Salaria in Punjab, the police said as it ruled out a terror angle.

Salaria, 30, of Gurdaspur district’s Jagatpur village was killed in an attack with sharp-edged weapons and firearms at Adda Purana Shalla locality on April 5.

At a press conference, Gurdaspur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Swarndeep Singh said Rakesh Masih alias Geshi was arrested at a toll plaza at Gharaunda in Haryana’s Karnal district on Monday, while two of the accused — Dharminder alias Meeta and Sandeep Kumar alias Prince — had surrendered at a Gurdaspur court on April 12.

The fourth accused — Manpreet Singh alias Manni who had helped the alleged killers in fleeing the spot on his motorcycle — was arrested on April 7. All the accused are in their twenties.

The SSP said the police recovered a country made pistol, two sickles and a motorcycle that were used in the crime from the accused. The pistol with four cartridges was recovered from Rakesh Masih, while a sickle was recovered from Dharminder and Sandeep.

A case under IPC sections 302,148 and 149, and sections 25, 54 and 59 of Arms Act (later added sections 216 and 120-B of the IPC) was registered against five persons.