Sitapur: Thirty Four days after the chilling murder of journalist Raghvendra Bajpai that took place on March 8 in Sitapur, the police revealed that five people were involved in the murder. The police have also nabbed three accused in the case. Among the arrested is the priest of Kardev Baba along with two of his acquaintances. Two shooters who fired on the journalist are absconding and have been declared wanted.
Three teams of the Crime Branch and seven teams of the STF have been deployed around Noida to nab them.
Temple Priest Gave Contract To Kill
Superintendent of Police Chakrash Mishra said the person who gave the contract to kill the journalist turned out to be a temple priest.
Shivanand Baba alias Vikas Rathore, the priest of Kardev Baba temple, and his close associates Nirmal Singh and Aslam Ghazi were involved in the killing.
During the probe, it was revealed that Baba had illicit relations with a minor boy. This had come to the knowledge of Raghvendra, and when he threatened to expose it, Baba gave Rs. 4 lakhs to middlemen and got him killed by hired shooters.
How Raghavendra Bajpai Was Killed
Raghavendra Bajpai, a local journalist and RTI activist, was shot dead on March 8 at the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur. The 35-year-old worked as a correspondent for a Hindi daily.
The assailants first rammed into Bajpai’s bike before shooting him three times. Bajpai had left home around noon after receiving a phone call. At approximately 3:15 pm, he was attacked on the highway and died on the spot.
