Patna: The Bihar police claimed Wednesday to be in the possession of ‘vital clues’ in the murder of IndiGo’s airport manager here. The airport manager’s killing has triggered angry reactions from across the political spectrum. Rupesh Kumar Singh (40) was sprayed with bullets while he was inside his SUV. He was waiting for the gates of his residence in Punaichak locality here to open after his return from office Tuesday evening. CCTV footage suggests that the assailants were two in number and rode a motorcycle, police sources said.
The assassins had their backs towards the CCTV camera situated on an adjacent street. They appeared to have been following Singh from the airport, around three kilometres away.
A police team reached the airport Wednesday afternoon for investigation. They are expected to study the CCTV footage of the previous day for identifying the attackers.
Deputy SP (Sachivalaya) Rajesh Singh Prabhakar, was named head of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) formed by the zonal IG for cracking the case. Prabhakar told reporters, “We have some vital clues which we would not like to divulge right now. But we are confident that the culprits would be caught soon.” The post-mortem report of the deceased was awaited, he added.
There was an outpouring of grief for Singh, survived by wife and two children less than 10 years of age. He was known to be sociable and, by virtue of his job profile, close to many powerful politicians and bureaucrats in Bihar.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted, “If Nitish Kumar is not able to control law and order, he should resign.”
Congress national general secretary Tariq Anwar said that the incident is ample proof that Nitish Kumar has lost grip on law and order. Sunil Kumar Pintu, an MP from Kumar’s own party JD(U), said, “Our leader’s commitment to maintaining law and order will bear no fruits until and unless officials concerned pull up their socks.”
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur said that the Bihar government must hand over the case to the CBI if the police fail to solve it within five days.
Meanwhile, at the paternal residence of the deceased in Saran district, the wails of the bereaved father rent the air. “After my son came to Patna, I was feeling relieved. I thought that upon my death, he would be certainly here in time to lend his shoulder to the bier. What bigger misfortune for a father than to end up doing the same for his offspring,” he said.