Lucknow, Oct 1 (IANS): The Lucknow police have arrested a criminal before he could commit a crime - the murder of a priest.
Mohit Dwiwedi, 27, was arrested on Saturday and booked under Section 115 of the IPC (abetment of an offence).
Additional DCP, west zone, Chiranjeev Nath Sinha, said police received a tip-off on September 28 that a man was planning to commit a murder and was ready with his weapons -carpenter’s saw, sharp-edged knives of different sizes and a big hammer. The target was a priest. The informant only provided a phone number.
“We took the task as a challenge and formed four teams to nab the accused. The first team traced the name and identity of the man. The second team traced the shop with the help of CCTV footage from where the tools were purchased. The third team went on the would-be killer’s trail. The fourth team monitored the phone number,” said Sinha.
The police said it was a tough task because they only had a phone number, which could possibly have been in another person’s name and used by someone else. However, after several hours of toil, the police traced the user of the mobile phone and the shop where the articles were purchased from using CCTV footage.
The police then distributed the photograph of the buyer and got the first lead about Mohit.
A team reached his residence and apprehended him. The police also found the articles he had purchased. During interrogation, Mohit disclosed that he plotted the priest’s murder because the latter had publicly humiliated him twice for being a Brahmin and not knowing anything about Hindu rituals.
“Mohit, who is an electrician, nursed the grudge,” said the officer and added, “Recently, he had spotted the priest coming to his friend’s house to perform a puja. Following that, he asked his friend to arrange for the same priest for a puja at his rented house on October 1.”
According to the confession, Mohit had called the priest through his friend and planned to hit him with a hammer and then slash his body parts using a carpenter’s saw. He had planned to pack the body parts in a plastic bag and dump them in the Gomti river.
Police praised the informant for coming forward with the details and helping them prevent a major crime.