Patna, June 4: Siwan police today took Laddan Mian, the key accused in the murder of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, on remand for three days. The man is scheduled to face several rounds of questioning.
Siwan police officers said they were trying to dig out old cases in which the other five men, who had shot Ranjan, might have been involved.
Siwan superintendent of police (SP) Saurabh Kumar said: "The police took Laddan on remand for three days with the court's nod. With the man to be questioned, the statements of the two other accused, identified as Rohit and Rishu, would be corroborated with that of Laddan and checked. We hope that the reason behind the murder of the journalist gets clearer with Laddan's statements."
Considered a close aide of RJD national executive member and jailed strongman Mohammed Shahabuddin, Laddan had surrendered in the court of chief judicial magistrate Arvind Kumar Singh on June 2.
The man had been absconding since Ranjan was murdered in Siwan on May 13. On June 2, police had also taken Rohit and Rishu on a two-day police remand.
The SP said the accused duo were claiming that they had carried out Ranjan's murder at the behest of Laddan.
Another Siwan-based police officer said: "Today, we will bring Laddan face to face with the two men and observe their reactions and statements. We suspect that apart from Rohit, the main shooter in the case, Vijay and Rishu have got criminal antecedents."
"We are studying old cases in which people were shot in similar manner. Laddan's statement can make a difference and the reason behind the murder might be revealed."
On May 25, the state police headquarters had claimed that five men, namely Rohit Kumar (22), Vijay Kumar (25), Rajesh Kumar (26), Rishu Kumar (20) and Sonu Kumar Gupta (22), had been nabbed from different areas of Siwan in connection with Ranjan's murder.
The state police headquarters have not mentioned Shahabuddin's name in connection with Ranjan's murder till reports last came in.
Sources said the shooters, especially Rohit, had criminal antecedents.
"The way Ranjan was stalked according to a well-made plan and then shot dead proves that these men are not new in the business as claimed by the state police. Ranjan was shot right in the middle of his eyes, which proves that Rohit, who shot him, is not new in the business of killing people. However, the case is under investigation and the truth will come out soon," said the officer.
Preliminary investigations into Rajdev's murder had revealed that on May 13 - the day the journalist was shot dead from close range near the fruit market on Siwan's Station Road - around 36 calls were made from the divisional jail to a suspect near the murder site.
The SIM cards of most phones had been procured against fake identities, pointing towards a larger conspiracy.
A total of eight teams had been constituted to carry out raids in Siwan and parts of Uttar Pradesh to nab the killers of Rajdev, who was the district bureau chief of a Hindi daily.
On May 25, the state police had claimed to have arrested five persons who were allegedly contracted to kill the veteran journalist.
