Junaid lynching case: Main accused confesses to crime

The prime accused in the killing of 17-year-old Junaid Khan on a train here in June has "confessed" to having stabbed the victim, a senior police official said on Sunday.

The accussed, identified as Naresh Kumar, though insisted that the murder was not related to the beef issue.

The 30-year-old accused, who works as a security guard in a Delhi firm, was arrested from Dhule district of Maharashtra on Saturday, about a fortnight after the June 22 incident which had triggered a nationwide outrage which was reportedly linked to the beef issue.

The accused, a resident of Palwal in Haryana, was on Sunday produced before a court which sent him to a two-day police remand.

Duty magistrate Sandeep Kumar recorded his statement during his production on Sunday.

"During his questioning so far, the main accused has confessed to having stabbed Junaid and attacking his brothers," Superintendent of Police (Railways) Kamaldeep Goyal said addressing a press conference here.

On claims that Junaid and his brothers were attacked over the issue of beef, Goyal said, "No such thing has come to the fore during the main accused's questioning so far."

The SP added that even the complainant had not mentioned beef being the reason for the fight on board the train in which Junaid was killed.

He said the accused had boarded the Mathura-bound train from Shivaji bridge station in Delhi.

The fight between the victim and his brothers and the accused in the train started at Okhla railway station in Delhi while the stabbing took place at a station Ballabhgarh onwards, the SP added.

Replying to a question, Goyal said the main fight had started between the victim and another man Rameshwar, who was arrested earlier in the case, adding the main accused

joined the fight later even though he did not know Rameshwar.

The knife used for killing Junaid has not been recovered so far, he said, adding the accused had told the police that it was in his possession.

"His consent will be sought for Test Identification Parade before court. It is an open investigation and only after thorough interrogation of the accused will the complete sequence of events in the case come to fore," the SP said, replying to a question about sequence of events which led to Junaid's killing.

When asked about the facts that have emerged with the arrest of five accused earlier, Goyal said the probe is ongoing.

"The main accused has been arrested on Saturday only. I am repeating that it is an open investigation, what was the sequence of events, what exactly led to murder of Junaid, will become known after main accused's interrogation," he said.

When asked where the main accused was hiding, Goyal said, "He spent a few days at his home. He went to Mathura and Vrindavan and later through a relative, he worked at some unit in Dhule for a few days. During the main accused's interrogation this should become clear."