Uttar Pradesh Police officer Zia-ul-Haq was apparently murdered by a mob in Balipur which was angry after the killing of village head Nanhe Yadav, the Central Bureau of Investigation has said.
While underlining that these are initial findings by the agency based on statements of eyewitnesses, CBI sources said its probe so far has revealed that the mob which had gathered after the killing of Yadav assaulted Haq and someone from it shot him dead.
The sources said they have not found any evidence so far about the alleged involvement of MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in the DSP's murder but nothing conclusive can be said at this stage and team is still looking for every possible evidence to solve the case.
The sources said according to initial probe, the picture is becoming clearer as far as murder of Haq was concerned but the killings of Nanhe and his brother Suresh are still under intense scrutiny before conclusion could be arrived at.
They said the agency has questioned family members of Nanhe and Suresh Yadav, who were killed in the village before Haq on March 2, to piece together exact chain of events that took place on the day of the killings.
The agency had recently made some important recoveries which included a blood-stained ammunition belt from a box concealed in a house of Suresh Yadav, one of the deceased, a
blood stained wooden rod from another area in the village and most important service revolver of Haq, who was posted slain as a circle officer in Kunda.
The CBI had sent the wooden rod and ammunition belt for forensic examination, the sources said.
Meanwhile, a senior CBI officer had written to the Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary Home seeking transfer of local police officers in Pratapgarh's Kunda circle stating that their presence might affect the investigation, they said.
Kunda circle in Pratapgarh district comprises four police stations -- Hathigavan, Manikpur, Kunda and Nawabganj.
In its letter, the CBI pointed that presence of local police officers could affect the ongoing probe as locals were shying away from giving their statements out of fear or some other reasons.
The CBI believes that killing of Nanhe was the handiwork of hired shooters who gunned him down on March 2 when he was standing at a tea stall in Balipur village.
After the murder of Yadav, Haq had rushed to the village to control the situation. Body of Yadav's brother Suresh was also recovered from the spot.
On the complaint of the slain police officer's wife, a case was lodged against Raja Bhaiya and he had subsequently resigned from the ministry.
The CBI has registered four cases pertaining to the three murders in village Balipur, police station Hathigawan in Kunda tehsil.
