More than two months have passed since a list of 15 Indian phone numbers were sent to the Indians through Interpol after the March 10 incident at Central Jail in which Yunus Ansari, an inmate facing charges concerning fake Indian currency and drugs, was shot by Indian national Manameet Singh. [break]
“Verification of those phone numbers looks to be the last resort as our investigations into one of the most intriguing crimes are getting nowhere. With no sign of our getting that, we will not be able to advance the investigations any further,” said a senior official associated with one of the high-profile investigation panels.
The Indian phone numbers were among those that were used to contact Nepali cell phone numbers employed by Singh, the purported contract-killer, and his aides during their month-long stay in the capital.
This is not the first case in which Nepali authorities are been denied cooperation in criminal investigations by counterpart agencies in foreign countries. Nepal has nevertheless hardly raised concern about such instances of indifference, during Interpol meetings at which member countries are entitled to put forward their grievances.
“As per Interpol rules, member countries are not obliged to cooperate if the inquires concern political, religious, defense-related (army) and communal matters,” said an official who worked for a long time at the Interpol section of Nepal Police. “But the Ansari shooting incident is seemingly a purely criminal case. There cannot be any reason for the Indian authorities to shy away from cooperation.”
“The government should take up the matter diplomatically. Otherwise this problem is not going to end,” said officials. “This could be just a simple case of carelessness but it is costing us much.”
Officials believe they could unravel the inside story in the case given verification of the phone numbers in question. A probe panel at Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) had fortuitously stumbled on a Nepali cell phone number (9813162464) used by Singh and his aides, and traced its call history to find the other numbers.
Republica has gotten hold of the list of Indian phone numbers through police sources that requested anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the case. The numbers include 9792664666, 819005807200, 819005807200, 918400246815 and 919760365855. The most important number, officials said, is 9792664666, which reportedly belonged to Singh´s friend Ajay and was frequently used to contact Ramu and Suresh Dwibedi. These two were among five Indian nationals who were believed to have stayed in the capital to plot the Central Jail shooting.
Investigating officials have also come across Singh´s mobile number (9044158700) and the landline number at his home in Lucknow (05222423206) .
Besides the phone numbers, Nepal Police have asked Indian counterparts about the identity of Singh himself and his purported background as a contract-killer. Singh is now in judicial custody.
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