Businesman Indra Kant Tripathi.The family of Indra Kant Tripathi, who was shot in his car on September 8, has questioned the Special Investigation Team’s report in which it claimed that the 44-year-old Mahoba businessman was killed by his own licensed gun and that no one was in the car except him.
“Without saying in clear terms, the SIT has made people to draw the conclusion that my uncle (Indra Kant Tripathi) committed suicide by shooting himself with his own gun. If we believe this theory, then SIT should also explain what forced my uncle to take such a drastic step. They should make it public too,”said Kamal Kant, the victim’s nephew.
Questioning the SIT for submitting its report without having recorded statement of the main accused – former Mahoba superintendent of police Manilal Patidar — Kamal Kant said, “In the fact-finding inquiry, the SIT was required to record the statements of all the people linked to the murder probe. The SIT wrapped up its probe without recording the statement of prime accused police officers Manilal Patidar and Devendra Shukla. I could not understand why the SIT was in a hurry to submit its report. The SIT has created confusion in the mind of the people.”
On September 8, Tripathi was found injured with a bullet injury in his neck in a car near Bagwakheda village in Mahoba. Just a day before he was shot, Tripathi, who ran a business of supplying explosives to people involved in mining, had accused the then Mahoba district police chief Mani Lal Patidar of extortion and criminal intimidation in a video message that had gone viral. After the incident, Patidar and another policeman Shukla were suspended. Five days later, Tripathi died and Patidar and others, including two local businessmen, were booked for murder.
On why the suspended IPS officer Patidar was not questioned, SIT chief Inspector General Vijay Singh Meena said on Friday that Patidar conveyed to them he was infected with coronavirus and undergoing treatment, while Shukla was absconding.
“ I read in the newspapers that the SIT was informed through a counsel of Patidar that he was Covid positive. The SIT did not try to verify this claim of Patidar and kept questioning victim’s family and his business partners’ version, ”Kamal Kant said, adding that it was surprising to know that the police could not trace their own officer.
While the SIT was a fact-finding probe to find the role of suspended police officers Patidar and Shukla in the killing of the businessman, the murder case is being separately investigated by Mahoba police.
Circle Officer, Mahoba city, Kalu Singh Police said their investigation was still on. “Our investigators would look into the finding of SIT. All the angles into the murder would be looked into before reaching to any conclusion.” He also said that plans are afoot to form another SIT to investigate the case.
“We know the police investigation in the case would also take the SIT’s line. We will never get justice unless the government takes some steps. We demand that an IPS-rank officer be appointed to investigate the case. Police should also check the health status of Patidar,” said Kamal Kant.
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