A little-known group has claimed the responsibility for Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) director general (prisons) Hemant K Lohia’s murder, saying it was a “small gift” to Union home minister Amit Shah, who began his three-day visit to the region on Monday.
The group calling itself the Peoples Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) claimed its “special squad” carried out an “intelligence-based” operation to kill Lohia. It called Lohia “a high-value target” and said the murder is just the beginning of such high-profile operations to “warn this Hindutva regime and its collaborators that we will strike anytime and anywhere with precision”.
“This is a small gift to visiting home minister amid such a security grid. …we will continue such operations…,” the group said in a note circulated on social media.
HT could not independently verify the veracity of the claim even as additional director general of police Mukesh Singh said so far “no terror act is apparent”, citing the initial investigation. Singh said a thorough probe was on. He added the weapon used in the murder has been seized besides some documentary evidence reflecting the suspect’s mental state.
Singh identified Lohia’s domestic help, Yasir Ahmed, 23, as the main accused. “Some CCTV footage collected from the incident site also shows the suspected accused running away after the commission of this crime.”
The guards at Lohia’s residence saw the fire inside Lohia’s room and broke open its door as it was locked from the inside.
Lohia was murdered on the day Shah arrived in Jammu for the three-day visit to J&K. Shah is due to address rallies in Rajouri and at Baramulla. He is also likely to chair a security review meet in Srinagar on Wednesday before returning to New Delhi.
Singh said Ahmed was working at Lohia’s house for nearly six months. He cited the initial investigation and said Ahmed was quite aggressive in his behaviour and was also under depression.
J&K Police chief Dilbag Singh earlier said a manhunt had been launched to nab the domestic help, who is from Ramban, around 120-km from Jammu. He added the suspect even attempted to set ablaze the body of Lohia, 57, who was promoted and appointed as director general (prisons) in August.
Mukesh Singh said Lohia was found dead with burn injuries and his throat slit. He cited the preliminary examination of the crime scene and said the killer first suffocated Lohia to death and also used a broken ketchup bottle to slit his throat and later tried to set the body on fire.