New Delhi:
A Delhi court today sent murdered BSP leader Deepak Bhardwaj's son Nitesh and his lawyer Baljeet to six days in police custody. The two are accused of plotting Mr Bhardwaj's murder last month at his farmhouse.
The police allege Nitesh, 36, and Baljeet planned to kill Mr Bhardwaj, a real estate tycoon, five to six months ago. The tycoon was estranged from his wife and two sons; the police allege he was murdered because of a property dispute.
The cops say they got suspicious when they found that Nitesh had broken his phone on the day of his father's murder. They traced call records from another number that he used and said they got some clues from there.
Police say Baljeet, who is also a property dealer, wanted to contest elections and needed funds. Nitesh had allegedly offered him unlimited money.
The police have alleged that Baljeet asked for Rs five crore to have Mr Bhardwaj killed. Nitesh, they alleged, had paid him Rs 50 lakh, of which he gave Rs five lakh to a self-styled godman called Pratibhanand.
It is Pratibhanand, still untraced, who the police say hired two contract killers to murder Mr Bhardwaj. He allegedly paid them Rs two lakhs. These were the men caught on CCTV cameras brandishing guns as they left Mr Bhardwaj's farmhouse minutes after he was murdered.
In the 2009 national elections, Mr Bhardwaj was the richest candidate with assets worth Rs. 600 crore.