SIT rules out terror angle in DG (Prisons) murder case in J&K

Jammu, January 15

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to probe the murder of the then J&K Director General (Prisons), Hemant Kumar Lohia, has ruled out any terror angle. It said the accused domestic help, Yasir Ahmad, was having grudges against the senior police official.

An official of the SIT informed Yasir Ahmad was having a self-assumed misconception that Lohia was supposed to provide him government job in return of the services he provided to the officer as a domestic help. Yasir worked at the house of Rajiv Khajuria, a friend of Lohia where the latter was murdered by Ahmad on the evening of October 3 last year.

“A narco-analysis test was also carried out on Yasir in Gujarat,” the official said.

Soon after the murder of the 1992-batch IPS officer, eyebrows were raised after a little-known terror group, Peoples Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), claimed responsibility of the crime. The police had dismissed the claim, stating it was a tactic by terror groups to own “everything shamelessly”.

The official said the police could not find any link between Ahmad and any militant group during the investigation. Yasir’s detailed two-year journey, after he left his home in Ramban district in Jammu division, was also chalked out.

The official further said the accused considered the deceased as a symbol of authority and killed him with a knife and poured petrol to burn his body.

The accused also made an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide by hanging himself. However, the belt could not sustain the weight of his body, the officials said, adding this fact could not be corroborated during investigation.

Lohia was found dead at his makeshift residence on the outskirts of Jammu on October 3 last year. Ahmad, 23, was arrested for the murder next day after fleeing the scene of the crime under the cover of darkness.