Temple priest, aide among three arrested for journalist's murder in UP's Sitapur

Sitapur: Police on Thursday arrested three men, including a temple priest, in connection with the murder of a journalist, who was shot dead on the Sitapur-Delhi National Highway on March 8, officials said.

Two shooters who carried out the attack on Raghavendra Bajpai -- a resident of Maholi who worked with a Hindi daily -- remain at large and efforts are underway to arrest them, they added.

Sitapur SP Chakraesh Mishra had formed three teams to investigate the case, which questioned more than 100 suspects and scanned around 250 CCTV camera feeds, leading to the arrests.

"The probe revealed the involvement of Shivananda Baba alias Vikas Rathore, a priest at the Karedev Baba temple in Maholi. CCTV camera footage showed two men loitering around the temple suspiciously near Bajpai's residence around the time of the incident. After further probe, police arrested Shivananda Baba, his close aide Nirmal Singh, and Aslam Ghazi," the SP said.

"Their interrogation revealed that Bajpai reportedly saw Shivananda in a compromising position within the temple, which could have severely damaged the latter's reputation.

"Shivananda narrated the incident to Nirmal Singh, who, with the help of Aslam Ghazi, orchestrated a contract killing to eliminate Bajpai. Two shooters were hired for the job," the officer said.

Three teams from the Crime Branch and seven teams from the Special Task Force (STF) are currently conducting raids to nab the shooters.

A reward of Rs 25,000 each has been announced for information leading to the duo's arrest, the SP said.