Three arrested in daylight murder of land dealer in Palamu

Daltonganj: Three people have been arrested for killing a 30-year-old man in broad daylight at Lalganj under Chainpur police station limits of the district on October 19, the police said on Saturday.

The deceased Hassan Ali had allegedly taken a contract to kill one Ekram Qureshi. However, Qureshi came to know about the hit job and ordered Hassan to be eliminated. Hassan, a small-time land dealer, had reportedly taken Rs 2.5 lakh for the job as an advance.Hassan’s father, Ibrar Hajam, lodged an FIR against nine people, including five named people. Ibrar also claimed that Hassan’s killers knew he visited Lalganj daily.

The police on Saturday said the arrested men were as Izhar Khan (21), and Saddam Ansari (21) and Mobarak Ansari. While Saddam and Izhar are named accused, Mobarak is their accomplice. Two country made pistols, three bullets, a bike and a phone were seized from them.

The trio were placed in judicial custody on Saturday.Palamu SP Reeshma Ramesan said, "The deceased had taken contract to kill one Ekram Quraishi. As an advance, he took Rs 2.5 lakh. But before that Quraishi, learnt about it and eliminated him. Quraishi has gone into hiding.” Rameshan said Hassan and Qureshi are relatives. Like Hassan, Qureshi is also a land dealer. They recently had a tiff over a land deal. “More arrests will follow soon," said SP.