SRINAGAR: The investigating agencies are on tiptoes to unravel the details of the brutal murder of Trilochan Singh Wazir, former Jammu and Kashmir MLC and National Conference leader. The 67-year old man, who became a grandfather on the day he was murdered, had led the commercial transport sector of Jammu and Kashmir for more than three decades.
On Saturday, TS Wazir was cremated in Jammu and thousands of people attended the funeral. His coffin flew from Delhi to his Gandhi Nagar residence during the day.
On Way To Canada
Wazir who was going to Canada following the news of the birth of his granddaughter was found in a decomposed state on September 9 morning in the bathroom of the apartment in Delhi’s Moti Nagar area. He was supposed to leave for Canada from Delhi on September 3, two days after his arrival from Jammu. He was going to see his granddaughter in Canada. However, Wazir never made it to the airport.
The investigation has been handed over to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police that has constituted various teams to unravel the case. In the last 24 hours, these teams raided several places in Jammu, Amritsar and Delhi. So far neither of the two key suspects, Harpreet and Harmeet has been arrested.
Harpreet Singh belongs to Amritsar while Harmeet hails from Nanak Nagar in Jammu. The latter was a transporter too.
Gone Missing
Reports appearing in the media said that Wazir flew to Delhi on September 1, and was accompanied by Harmeet, in whose flat he was eventually found.
Initially, the family tried to locate Wazir and when they failed Harpreet told them that he has flown to Canada through an indirect flight and will be in quarantine. But the family in Jammu tipped the Jammu and Kashmir Police that requested the Delhi Police to locate the person at Harpreet’s flat in Moti Nagar.
The other version is that the police was informed by the residents after they detected a foul smell emanating from the flat. When police reached the spot, they saw the killers had kept the AC on so that the foul smell is somehow managed. It did but finally, the smell started spreading around.
Located
Police found the decomposing body of Wazir in the flat bathroom. His head was wrapped in a black plastic bag and had a deep head injury. This injury was later termed to be a gunshot.
After evacuating the body for mandatory autopsy, the police started examining the CCTV footage. It was surprising to see that the killers were three in number and were living with the dead body for many days. While two of them were quickly identified, the third is yet to be traced or identified.
“In the CCTV footage, which the Delhi Police has accessed, it was found that apart from Harpreet Singh, two more individuals kept frequenting the house. Out of them, Harpreet and Harmeet were last seen till Wednesday at the scene of the crime,” Times Now reported from Delhi. “Police suspect that the accused must be looking for a chance to get rid of the dead body at the earliest.”
Police have seized Wazir’s mobile phone on basis of which it has been able to reconstruct part of the story. The Moti Nagar flat where the murder took place was taken on rent in January and the landlord was told that it would be vacated by September 10. Investigators believe that the murder was planned in July but could not be executed then.
Motive
Police are working on various fronts to unravel the mystery. Now the family, various Sikh bodies and the transporters are seeking a CBI investigation into the murder. Some of the family members were quoted saying that he was killed for political reasons and the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee was approaching its elections.
Jameel Chaudhary, an NC member having an association with Wazir foe the last years, gave a lot of details to The Hindu especially about his association with Harpreet.
“This man introduced himself as a journalist to Mr Wazir over a year ago. He said he ran a newspaper and was publishing 2 lakh copies a day, and a website. He convinced Mr Wazir that he would publish stories on him and Mr Wazir, being a political figure, believed him,” Chaudhary was quoted saying. The two met many times in the last year. “Harpreet Singh gained his confidence to the point that Mr Wazir would go anywhere this man would ask, and a man of his stature wouldn’t otherwise.”
In his last visit to Delhi, Harpreet invited him for dinner. Chaudhary had talked to Wazir on September 2, at 10:30 pm.
“He told me that he had a flight at 2 am and would leave soon. I asked him where he was staying and he said he was staying with the journalist. He said that Harpreet was really forcing him to stay with him [Harpreet], which is why he [Wazir] agreed. But he was sounding disoriented,” Choudhary told The Hindu. “Wazir video-called his wife thereafter, with Mr Harpreet sitting next to him.”
A few hours later, Harpreet allegedly video-called Wazir’s son from the airport informing them that he has dropped his father and that he would reach Canada in three-four days as the flight was via Germany.
Two days later, Harpreet told a friend that Wazir was shot dead by two people who came from Jammu and then switched off the phone.
It was only after the murder was established that his family flew from Canada and Jammu to collect his mortal remains.
“This looks like an outcome of political rivalry,” Bhupinder Singh, Wazir’s brother and retired Senior Superintendent of Police (Jammu) has said. “We hope the police will investigate the case with due diligence.”
