Lucknow: The Hazratganj police have busted a conspiracy to assassinate a scholar associated with Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, a prominent Islamic seminary in Lucknow, and grab his property.Six people, including the mastermind, two lawyers and the manager of a madrassa, have been arrested.According to police, the accused hired two men for Rs 2 lakh to kill Irfan Ahmad Rizvi and provided them with an illegal pistol, ammunition and a stolen motorcycle for reconnaissance.Police said the conspiracy was in the making for nearly a month.The case came to light on Aug 18 when police arrested Mohd Shahid and Mohd Zamir while they were conducting reconnaissance. Police recovered an illegal pistol, five live cartridges and a stolen motorcycle from them.“During interrogation, the accused told the police that they had been hired to kill a man. The duo identified Aman Qureshi as the person who had arranged the contract and provided the firearm to them,” said assistant commissioner of police Rajneesh Verma.Police launched a search for Qureshi and arrested him from Laxman Mela Park around 2.15 am on Friday.During interrogation, he disclosed the involvement of Sohail Ahmad Siddiqui, Farhan Siddiqui and Bilal Hashmi, who were arrested later in the morning near Baikunth Dham Bandha Road.The conspiracy was linked to a property associated with Madrassa Jamia Al Noor Al Salamia in Maqbool Nagar, Faridipur.Rizvi was associated with the madrassa, while Hashmi was its manager and worked as a property dealer.Investigators said Hashmi had access to madrassa-related documents and was familiar with Rizvi’s property holdings. Police suspect that the property was the primary motive behind the murder plot.Police said Hashmi was also a client of lawyers Sohail Siddiqui and Farhan Siddiqui. Qureshi told investigators that the two lawyers had asked him to arrange men to kill Rizvi.Photographs of Rizvi were provided to the accused for identification.Qureshi was given a separate keypad phone and SIM card for communication, while being instructed not to use his regular mobile phone.Police said the accused believed Rizvi’s property could be acquired more easily because he had only daughters and they were already married.Investigation is ongoing to establish the individual roles of the accused, the alleged property motive, the source of the firearm and whether more people were involved in the constituency.
