Ranchi, April 3: The state home ministry believes that a close aide of Bagodar MLA Mahendra Singh was behind the legislator?s murder.

Speaking to The Telegraph, home secretary J.B. Tubid said during the course of the investigation, police have stumbled upon facts that point to the involvement of someone close to the CPI(ML) leader.

Tubid also ruled out the involvement of Naxalites in the killing, though the government had blamed the rebels for the murder.

?Though the case is with the CBI at present, there are some leads that point to the involvement of a close aide of the Left leader,? said Tubid.

?Singh was killed on January 16 at Durgi Dhavaiya village, 17 km from the Saria police station in Giridih. According to the information we have, Singh?s schedule was made at the last minute. No one except people very close to him knew about it,? he added. This goes to prove the fact that the killers had vital information on Singh?s movement, he added.

?This is also the reason why the police could not reach the spot. Since Singh made the programme at the last minute, the police had no information. Neither did anyone try to intimate the police,? he added.

The home secretary stated that professional killers were behind the murder.

?We believe that Mahendra Singh was killed by professional killers. Though the case is yet to be solved, we are of the view that there was no Naxalite hand in the incident,? he pointed out.

On the controversial report of ADG (special branch) Vishnu Dayal Ram about the involvement of a senior police official in the murder, Tubid said, ?There is nothing new about the report. All it does is recommend that the probe be handed over to an independent investigative agency. The case is already with the CBI.?

Tubid stated that no sooner had Singh?s wife accused the police officer and a former minister of masterminding the killing than the case was handed over to the CBI.

There have been demands to place the report before the Assembly. Mahendra?s son Vinod had appealed for a call attention in the Assembly in connection with the report, which sources said, is still with the home department.

The CBI would definitely use Ram?s report as a reference point for their probe, said an official of the home department.

?There is no question of hiding any facts,? he said.