With the arrest of the main accused, the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Bareilly on Monday claimed to have solved the death case of a Bihar cleric whose body was found along the railway tracks near Palpur railway crossing in Bareilly district’s Cantt area on April 27 this year.
Police officials said the arrested accused Pankaj Rajput, 25, from Moradabad who was carrying a reward of ₹10,000, confessed during interrogation to pushing Maulana Tauseef Raza, 35, from a moving train after an argument broke out between him and Raza on some issue.
Ashutosh Shukla, senior superintendent of police, GRP, Bareilly, said the case would now be amended to culpable homicide not amounting to murder based on the findings of the investigation. The superintendent of railway police, Moradabad division, had earlier announced a reward of ₹10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the accused.
“The accused was nabbed during routine patrolling and checking operations on platform no. 2. The case is registered at the GRP Bareilly junction police station,” Shukla added.
Investigators said passenger testimonies and the examination of several video clips played a crucial role in identifying the suspect. Following sustained efforts, police were able to trace and arrest Rajput.
Police said after attending a congregation, the cleric from Bihar’s Kishanganj district was returning home aboard the Yog Nagari Rishikesh–Muzaffarpur Special Train. They said the cleric was travelling in a sleeper coach despite holding a general-class ticket.
On May 4, his wife, Tabassum, reached Bareilly and lodged a murder complaint against unidentified persons. She alleged that her husband had been assaulted inside the train before being thrown out.
Tabassum also told investigators that shortly before the incident, her husband had called her and informed her that some passengers were quarrelling with him. The GRP questioned more than 200 passengers who had travelled in coaches 8, 9 and 10 of the train. Police also scrutinised CCTV footage and gathered other evidence to reconstruct the events leading to Raza’s death.
