Scribe murder: 2 wanted bros killed in encounter

Time of India

10 hours ago

Lucknow: Two brothers wanted for the murder of Sitapur-based journalist Raghvendra Vajpayee were killed in an encounter with a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and the local police near Dulhapur Tiraha in Sitapur early Thursday.
Vajpayee, 36, a resident of Vikasnagar in the Maholi area of Sitapur, was shot dead on March 8, near the Hempur railway overbridge on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway while he was heading to Sitapur on a motorbike.
Raju Tiwari (46) alias Rizwan and Sanjay Tiwari (44) alias Shibbu alias Shakeel Khan, residents of Atwa village under Mishrikh police station in Sitapur, sustained bullet injuries in the exchange of fire and were declared dead during treatment, police said.
Earlier, a reward of Rs 1 lakh each had been announced for their arrests.
The STF Noida unit, led by additional SP Rajkumar Mishra and deputy SP Navendu Kumar, acting on intelligence inputs, laid an ambush around 4.45 am with local police after receiving a tip-off that the Tiwari brothers were en route to Sitapur from Pihani on a motorcycle to execute another crime.
"When signalled to stop, the duo opened fire on the police team.
In retaliatory firing, both were hit. They were taken to CHC Pisawan and then referred to the district hospital, where they succumbed. The police recovered a carbine (9 mm), a pistol (.32 bore), two country-made pistols (.315 bore), 36 live rounds and 13 used cartridges of various bores, and a bike and a keypad mobile phone from the spot," said ASP Mishra.
Raju Tiwari alias Rizwan was first jailed in 2004 for motorcycle theft.
He later committed several serious crimes, including the murder of sub inspector Parvez Ali in Lakhimpur Kheri on April 27, 2006.
Sanjay Tiwari alias Shibbu alias Shakeel Khan was the main accused in the 2011 murder of one Devi Sahay Shukla in the Machhrehta police station area of Sitapur.
The two brothers were born of an interfaith love marriage between their mother Najjo and father Krishna Gopal Tripathi and curiously had separate names from both sides of their parents.
Journalist Raghvendra Vajpayee's murder was allegedly orchestrated by a temple priest, Shivanand Baba alias Vikas Rathore, who paid Rs 4 lakh to contract killers Raju and Sanjay.
According to the investigation, Raghvendra reportedly caught the priest in a compromising situation with another individual inside the temple premises. Fearing public exposure, the priest conspired to eliminate the journalist and hired the Tiwari brothers to carry out the killing.
While three accused, main conspirator Shivanand Baba, Nirmal Singh and Aslam Ghazi, were arrested earlier, the two brothers had been absconding.
BOX
Slain journalist's wife questions
encounter, demands CBI probe
tnn
Lucknow: Expressing her dissatisfaction over the encounter of the two accused shooters, Rashmi Vajpayee, the wife of slain journalist Raghvendra Vajpayee, called for a CBI probe into the matter.
Rejecting the version of events presented by Sitapur police, Rashmi dubbed it as a "fabricated and false story".
Alleging that the family was kept in the dark and justice was reduced to mere assurances, Rashmi said, "Until my husband's last rites were performed, we were only given hollow promises. In the beginning, politicians and ministers visited and spoke of justice, but later no one even cared to ask how we were coping, what happened to our children, or what condition we were living in," Rashmi said.
"What is the problem in giving the case to the CBI? Only a fair probe will expose the real faces—those who are still hiding in the shadows," she said.
The grieving wife also alleged that those who supported their demand for justice were harassed to the extent that they now fear visiting the family.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and s
ilver prices
in your area.