A team of U.P. investigators visited the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters on Monday to probe the murder of Inspector Mohammad Tanzil Ahmed (45), who was killed in Bijnore district on Sunday.
An NIA official said the assailants knew the area well and had waited for Ahmed through the night. “Ahmed had gone to attend his niece’s wedding. On the night of the wedding, his car ferried relatives and guests several times but it did not come under attack,” the official said. Only around 1 a.m. when Ahmed was returning with his wife and children did the attack take place. “As soon as Ahmed, who was driving the vehicle, turned left from the highway and got on the kutcha road, two assailants on a motorcycle came from the direction of his house. They drove past his car initially but came back and shot him several times,” he said.
The special task force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police collected documents connected to the cases with which Ahmed was associated. They would also question Ahmed’s colleagues, officials said. Daljeet Singh Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order, told The Hindu on phone: “We are investigating the personal angle as well. An STF has reached Delhi to study the cases Ahmed was investigating. We cannot rule out anything at this point of time.” An NIA official said Ahmed was quite popular at his native place in Bijnore and he used to travel there frequently.
“He was a social person and used to help many people at his native place. He solved many disputes there,” the official said. “We are assisting the Uttar Pradesh police and hope to crack the case in a week. Right now, terror sections have not been added to the case,” said S.K. Singh, IG, NIA. An official said that recently Ahmed had travelled to Malda in West Bengal to pursue a lead in the fake currency racket the agency was investigating. “We got some lead, and Ahmed had travelled to Malda… He developed the information, and one person was arrested,” the official said.
“He helped many people there,” the official said.