January 6, 2018

Mangaluru: The Police have learnt that four men arrested on the charge of murdering BJP worker Deepak Rao, had received huge amount of money recently.

According to sources, prime accused Pinki Nawaz received a huge amount of money, which was later shared among the four. The amount was transferred through a bank account.

The four suspects — Pinki Nawaz, Rizwan, Mohammed Naushad and Mohammed Irshan — were arrested within hours of the murder on Jan.3. The first two sustained bullet injuries when the Police opened fire to nab them and the other two are being interrogated by the Police.

“The Police are investigating whether the money was paid for the murder. Deepak Rao was not a prominent leader of BJP, Bajarang Dal or any other organisation. He was only a BJP member. The Police are investigating the purpose behind the transfer of money,” said a Police Officer, who is part of the investigation team.

Aid from MLA refused

Meanwhile, the family members of Deepak Rao refused to accept a compensation of Rs.5 lakh offered by Mangaluru MLA Moinuddin Bava, out of his personal money.

When the MLA visited Rao’s home yesterday, the family members sought to know why he did not attend the funeral. Though Bava tried to convince the family members that the Police had asked him not to go citing law and order issue, the former remained unconvinced. When he offered to issue a cheque for Rs.5 lakh on his personal account, the family refused any help from him.