Travel agent killed to avenge insult to headman: Police

Chennai: Travel agent Babu Singh was shot dead in Sowcarpet on May 3 because he allegedly humiliated a village head over a plot of land in Rajasthan in January, police said. To avenge this, the Pune-based sons of headman Keshav Singh hired Hakim to kill Babu Singh.
Police said Nagpur-based Hakim, prime accused in the slaying, was a suspected arms smuggler who demanded 5 lakh for the killing.
He then engaged Rakesh and his accomplice, Tikku. They conducted a recce in February and March before Rakesh shot Babu Singh near his office on Erullappan Street.
Rakesh and Tikku, who were nabbed in Pune on Monday, told investigators they received 1 lakh from Hakim to carry out the murder. Police initially tried to track Hakim with the help of a phone number given by Rakesh. However, he is believed to have escaped a day before police raided his hideout in Pune. With police confirming that Rakesh used a country-made pistol to kill Singh, they now suspect that Hakim could have supplied the weapon.
According to sources, police are trying to collect details about Hakim from police stations across Maharashtra. They have obtained photographs of Hakim from the history sheet on him maintained by the Pune police. The team of investigators is also verifying if he had any links to criminal elements in Chennai.