Anil Mahabole

Mumbai, June 14: Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik today hinted that crime journalist Jyotirmoy Kumar Dey had lost his life for doing his “professional duty” than over a personal tiff but refused to elaborate.

At a condolence meeting organised by the Mumbai crime reporters association, he said: “The way the investigation is going, it can be said Dey was not killed for a personal reason. He paid for his life for doing his professional duty.”

Patnaik said the case was on a “good track” and vowed “to give a fitting response to the killers”.

Dey, 56, was shot dead on Saturday in Powai. The police are probing various angles, including the oil mafia and underworld, but have not detained anyone yet. One of Dey’s colleagues, Mid Day’s principal correspondent Tarakant Dwivedi, had alleged that ACP Anil Mahabole had a role in his killing and hinted at “personal vendetta”.

“This has been a moment of deep and great sorrow for all of us. Since it happened, I have been directly involved in the investigation of the case. I have not been able to come to terms with the way Dey was killed. I wish I had not seen this unfortunate day,” Patnaik said at the meeting.

Dey, who had been covering crime in the city since 1995, was known to several police officers. “It is a rare event in the life of a police officer to investigate the murder of someone one has known closely and grown fond of over the years,” said Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police, crime, who had known Dey for over 10 years.

“It is the misfortune of the crime branch to be dealing with such a case but we are determined to solve it.”

Many journalists expressed outrage at the audacious killing. “Never before has a journalist been killed in such a way in Mumbai. The shooters couldn’t have known that Dey was a journalist or they wouldn’t dare to kill him. In the past, we wrote much more investigative articles on the mafia, but they wouldn’t take such a step against us. They fear no one now,” said Prasad Nevrekar, a member of the crime reporters association.

Allegation ‘absurd’

Assistant commissioner of police Mahabole today denied any role in Dey’s murder and alleged that vested interests were trying to damage his reputation and falsely implicate him in the case.

“The allegations against me are absurd. I have nothing to do with the case. Dey was a highly respected person and I condemn what has happened,” he said.

Crime branch sleuths had indicated that Mahabole would be questioned after Dey’s colleague Dwivedi, arrested under the Officials Secrets Act for an expose on Government Railway Police negligence, had alleged he suspected the cop of having a role in the scribe’s killing.

Mahabole denied Dwivedi’s allegations of “personal vendetta”. On Dwivedi’s claim that Mahabole had entered a GRP lock-up and taunted him, the ACP said he had dropped by to meet an officer who was not in. Then he had enquired about a reporter who had been writing stories about him.

“When the staff told me that Dwivedi was the person, I asked him if he was indeed Dwivedi. I had never met this reporter though he was writing stories against me since December 2010. I merely told him we will meet when he comes out,” the ACP said.

As Mid Day’s editor, special investigations, Dey was involved in getting bail for Dwivedi and had spearheaded the campaign against police officers who, the paper claimed, had got their reporter arrested.