Murdered Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari's family demands NIA probe, says 'we don't trust anyone'

New Delhi: The family of deceased Hindu outfit leader Kamlesh Tiwari, who was killed on Friday afternoon inside his residence in Naka Hindola area in Lucknow, has pressed for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the incident.

Speaking to Zee News, Kamlesh Tiwari's son Satyam said, ''We want the National Investigation Agency to investigate the case, we do not trust anyone.''

Satyam further said that his father was killed although he had security guards.

''How can we possibly trust the administration then?'' he said adding that they are not satisfied with the investigation done so far by the UP Police.  

Tiwari's son added that his family is getting threats and efforts are being made to suppress their voice.

Tiwari's family had earlier alleged that despite repeated pleas made to the government, no security was provided to the deceased. 

Five persons, including a maulana, have been detained in connection with Kamlesh Tiwari's murder.

Tiwari was the former leader of Hindu Mahasabha and had founded the Hindu Samaj Party in 2017. He was cremated at his native place - Sitapur - on Saturday. 

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Director-General Police (UP) OP Singh on Saturday addressed a press conference and announced that three persons have been detained by Gujarat ATS in Surat while two others have been detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Bijnor in connection with the murder.

"It was a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Police. We were confident that we would crack the case within 24 hours and we managed to do so. The UP police acted very swiftly. In UP's Bijnor, two Muslim clerics were named in an FIR filed by Kamlesh Tiwari's wife. Two other accused, who are believed to have carried out the attack, are still on the run," he said.

He added that all the three accused detained by the Gujarat ATS have accepted their involvement in the crime and that all three are linked to the case in some manner. "The inciting speech that the victim had given in 2015 was a reason behind this. As per the information that we have received, it seems it was done in a planned manner," he said. 

The DGP said that the investigation ruled out suspect's links with any global terror organisation and that the main objective behind the murder was a defamatory speech the deceased gave on Prophet Mohammad a few years back in 2015.

The police said that in 2016, one of the arrested Muslim clerics in Bijnor announced a bounty of Rs 51 lakh on Kamlesh Tiwari's head for his controversial remarks. "Prima Facie this was a radical killing, these people were radicalized by the speech that he (Kamlesh Tiwari) gave in 2015, but much more can come out when we catch hold of the remaining criminals," he said. 

The three accused, detained by the Gujarat ATS have been identified as Maulana Mohsin Sheikh, Rasheed Ahmed Pathan and Faizan. Police believe Rasheed was the mastermind while Faizan purchased the box of sweets the killers used to hide their gun into on the day of the attack. 

Singh also rejected the claims made by Tiwari's kin that he was not provided security despite repeated requests. The DGP said that the deceased was provided a gunner and a policeman and both were present when the incident took place. 

He added that there was no laxity on the part of the police administration.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also due to meet the family members of the deceased Hindu outfit leader Kamlesh Tiwari on Saturday evening. Adityanath is currently in Maharashtra and is scheduled to return to UP in the evening after which he will pay a visit to Sitapur, where Tiwari's family stays.