Key conspirator in the attack on Teotia arrested

GHAZIABAD: One of the main conspirators in the attack on local BJP functionary Brijpal Teotia in Muradnagar, Manoj Dewan (50), was arrested on Wednesday. Manoj had allegedly conspired with another accused Manish Dewan to eliminate Toetia to avenge the murder of the latter’s father.

Manoj is a cousin of Manish whose father, Sandeep Dewan, a UP police constable, was allegedly murdered in Delhi in 1996. Teotia was one of the accused in that murder case.

According to police, Manoj had fled to Jaipur a day before the attack in order to evade police. After the attack, when a search was launched by police to find Manoj, he allegedly shifted to different places like Ajmer and Agra.

“Earlier, Manoj used to sport thick moustaches. After the attack on Teotia, he had shaved it off to avoid police detection. A .32 bore country-made pistol was seized from him at the time of his arrest in Muradnagar on Wednesday. We are questioning him to get more details,” said a police officer.

Teotia was attacked with an

AK-47

and other automatic weapons by assailants on Rawli Road on August 11 when he and his aides were travelling in two SUVs. Teotia survived the attack with gunshot injuries. Manoj has reportedly told cops during interrogation that he was not physically present in Muradnagar during the incident. He has further told police that the AK-47 and a carbine had been hidden in the house of one Sansar Singh, one of the conspirators.