NEW DELHI, 19 April 2003 — Indian investigators yesterday blamed Pakistani intelligence for the killing of former Gujarat minister Haren Pandiya, a day after four men were arrested in Andhra Pradesh in connection with the assassination.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director P.C. Sharma said his agency suspected Pakistan’s hand in the March 26 killing as his colleagues named Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as being behind the murder.
The CBI said the four suspects were arrested from a bus stand in Hyderabad Thursday and were brought to New Delhi on a special charter plane for detailed questioning.
But the families of Asghar Ali, Mohammed Abdul Bari, Mohammed Abdul Rauof and Iftikhar claimed plainclothesmen barged into their homes and took away the men.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pandiya, a former minister of state for home and arch foe of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was shot dead in his car in Ahmedabad as he was about to leave for home after his morning walk.
The CBI said the man who pressed the trigger while Pandiya was sitting in his car was Asghar Ali. CBI chief Sharma said Ali has often visited Pakistan.
“Ali would have escaped from Hyderabad Thursday if we had not caught him. We believe that he was trying to escape to Pakistan,” Sharma told a crowded press conference here yesterday.
“Ali has a long criminal record and is still wanted by Hyderabad police on a slew of charges. Ali has taken arms training in Pakistan.”
“We are still probing the case but have concrete evidence to pin Ali and his associates. We are trying to verify whether he had gone to Pakistan just before the murder,” the CBI chief added. Sharma, however, refused to give details of the investigation and the possible motive behind the killing.
“We are trying to find out whether the killing was in any way linked to the Gujarat (communal) riots (of 2002). We are trying to find out where the conspiracy was hatched and who all were involved and how many men.
“We are trying to find out the motive behind the killing. We cannot rule out that it was a contract killing. He (Ali) is a criminal and would not be averse to killing for money,” said Sharma.
