Prime accused, 3 associates in Patna hospital murder case held, transit remand awaited

The Bihar Police on Sunday said it has arrested the prime accused and his three associates for the murder of gangster Chandan Mishra inside a private hospital in Patna, and is waiting for transit remand from a court in Kolkata, where they were apprehended.
Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma told reporters here that an application for transit remand of the four persons, including prime accused Tauseef alias Badshah, who was arrested in a joint operation with Kolkata Police and Kolkata Special Task Force (STF), has been moved.
The police arrested Tauseef, his cousin Nishu Khan and their other associates Harsh and Bhim in Kolkata on Saturday, he said
“We are waiting for the arrival of Tauseef and three others, after which we shall immediately step up investigations into the case and ensure justice,” the SSP said.
All four were arrested under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act, he added.
Chandan Mishra, a resident of Buxar district, who was a murder convict and out on parole, was shot dead by gunmen inside a private hospital in Patna on Thursday morning.
A purported CCTV footage of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed five armed men entering the ICU of the hospital and opening fire at Mishra on July 17.
According to the police, five people, including Tauseef, were identified in CCTV footage.
“The remaining four shooters, who have been identified, are absconding and a search is underway to arrest them,” the SSP said, declining to divulge their identity.
“Prime accused Tauseef was wanted by the police in several criminal cases, and also booked in the Arms Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Nishu was also wanted by the police in cases related to the Arms Act,” said the SSP.
Based on the analysis of the scientific and electronic evidence, including CCTV footage and call detail records, investigators traced the locations of the accused in Kolkata, the SSP said.
“We contacted Kolkata Police and shared the details. Kolkata Police and its Special Task Force (STF) formed a team and provided all support to the Bihar Police in arresting the accused,” he added.
Sleuths of the Bihar Police also examined the sister of one of Tauseef’s associates in Patna to get details about their whereabouts, the SSP said.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the conspiracy to kill Mishra was hatched at the residence of Tauseef’s cousin Nishu Khan in Samanpura locality of Patna, said the SSP.
Khan denied any involvement in the conspiracy and refuted the Patna police’s claim that a meeting took place at his residence.
Talking to reporters, while being taken to a court in Kolkata, Khan said, “There was no meeting at my house.”
He insisted that his visit to Kolkata was solely for medical reasons.
“I had plans to go to Delhi for treatment, but my girlfriend wanted to check if the treatment could happen in Kolkata. That’s why we came here,” he claimed, adding that his girlfriend resides in Kolkata.
Khan said they initially went to a housing estate in New Town on the eastern fringe of Kolkata, later moved to Park Street in search of a hotel, and finally settled at a guest house in Anandapur.
“I didn’t receive any money. I don’t know about any money involved,” Khan said, when asked about alleged financial involvement in the crime.
Earlier, Bihar Police officials claimed that all four arrested had been brought to Patna from Kolkata.
The West Bengal Police on Saturday said five people, including a woman, were detained from a guest house in Kolkata’s Anandapur area.
Earlier in the day, it said the five were arrested from the New Town area in the same case.