RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM/VIJAYAWADA : Three days after the murder of 61-year-old Md Farooq, the moazzen of a mosque at Battinanagar under Lalacheruvu Panchayat in Rajamahendravaram, police nabbed a suspect in the case and took him into custody for questioning.Disclosing the development to mediapersons at a press conference on Monday evening, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the police had worked fast. “Surveillance camera footage and the footage from a private closed-circuit camera were matched and based on evidence the culprit was caught. This will put an end to wild speculations,” he said.
At a review meeting with police officials earlier, the Chief Minister had stressed the need to ensure that no culprit went unpunished. The TDP supremo had instructed cops to use state of the art technology to track down wrongdoers and put the details of pending cases online.Meanwhile, Rajamahendravaram (Urban) Superintendent of Police B Rajakumari told TNIE the suspect was nabbed at Uravakonda in Anantapur district.
“We are questioning the suspect to collect more evidence. We are yet to make any arrests,” she said and refused to divulge more information fearing it may hamper investigation. On Friday morning, Farooq was found lying in a pool of blood at the mosque. The murder triggered public outcry and saw protests by persons from the minority community demanding quick action against the culprit.
The Chief Minister personally took stock of the situation using Real Time Governance and engaged as many as 70 police officers to nab the culprit.Home Minister N Chinarajappa, local MLAs, MLCs and police officials held meetings with leaders of the Muslim community to defuse tension. The East Godavari district administration has borne the expenses of shifting his body to his village in Bihar.