If no justice, I will take up the sword: Kamlesh Tiwari's mother blasts Yogi after meet

The mother of slain Hindutva leader Kamlesh Tiwari said she was not satisfied with the assurances given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his meeting with the family members at his official residence.

The chief minister had assured the family of all help after they demanded speedy trial and capital punishment for the culprits.

Immediately after the 30-minute meeting with the chief minister, the family members, including Tiwari's mother Kusum, told reporters that they were satisfied with his assurances, but later she said that Adityanath's response was not up to expectations and expressed unhappiness that she was "forced" to to venture out of their house for the meeting against the Hindu customs during the mourning period. 

She also said they asked Adityanath why Tiwari's "security cover was withdrawn" but did not get a proper response.

"It was at his [CM's] direction that policemen forced us to meet him. So we were compelled to come [to Lucknow]," she said.

Earlier, two IS suspects arrested by the Gujarat police in 2017—Obaid Mirza and Qasim—had revealed during interrogation that Tiwari was on their hit list, news agency IANS reported, quoting sources.

The duo had told investigating officers that they had been shown a video of Tiwari and asked to eliminate him.

Meanwhile, Tiwari's wife alleged that a cleric from Bijnor was the mastermind behind her husband's killing.

The 45-year-old right-wing leader was earlier associated with a faction of the Hindu Mahasabha.

"Had I been satisfied [with the chief minister's assurance], my blood would not have boiled," she told mediapersons later when asked if she was satisfied with the meeting.

"If we do not get justice, I myself will take up the sword," Tiwari's distraught mother Kusum told reporters some time after meeting Adityanath.

"We asked the CM as to why the security cover of Kamlesh was withdrawn, why was he so brutally killed," she said.

The chief minister's expressions were "not as per our desire", added Kusum, who had on Saturday accused a local BJP leader of killing Tiwari over a temple dispute.

However, the Gujarat ATS, UP police and Surat police, in a joint operation on Saturday, detained six persons for their alleged connection with Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari's murder. Since Tiwari's murder in Lucknow on Friday, the police were following possible Surat links as a sweetmeat box in which the gun was kept was from a shop in Surat.

Three of the detained have been identified as Shamim Pathan, Faizan Pathan and Mohsin Sheikh. Two men, who executed the murder, are still on the run. 

Tiwari is believed to have been killed for the alleged remarks he made against Muslim community in 2015. According to police sources, after scrutinising the video footage of the Dharati Farsan Shop in Udhna area of Surat, it emerged that two of the accused bought the sweetmeat box from there.

The family members Kamlesh Tiwari had on Saturday delayed his cremation, demanding a meeting with the chief minister to put forth their nine demands, including a probe by the National Investigation Agency. 

 Earlier, after emerging from the meeting, Tiwari's mother had said, "I told the chief minister I want justice for my son and strict punishment should be given to the killers. We have been assured by the chief minister, and by giving the assurance, the chief minister has given many things." 

Official sources said the UP chief minister assured all help to the family during the meeting, saying the police are earnestly probing the case and the guilty persons will not be spared.

They said the family demanded a government job for Tiwari's son, security to the family and an arms licence for their safety and security.

They also demanded the naming of their colony after Tiwari, besides installation of his statue and hearing of the matter in a fast-track court.

The police, meanwhile, on Sunday said during investigation, it came to the light that the suspected killers were staying in a hotel in Naka Hindola area.

Hindu Samaj Party chief Tiwari, 45, earlier associated with a faction of the Hindu Mahasabha, was killed at his home in Khurshed Bagh on Friday.

-Inputs from PTI