Accused travelled to Delhi, other cities after killing Mansukh Hiran: NIA informs court

Accused Anand Jadhav arrives at the NIA special court. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed the special NIA court on Friday that accused Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav involved in the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran travelled to different parts of Delhi and Maharashtra after committing the crime on March 4 and that they needed to find out who funded them.

Pradeep Sharma along with co-accused Santosh Shelar

The agency further said that the accused, including former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, were confronted with the call data records (CDRs), internet protocol data record (IPDR) and CCTV footage but they were trying to mislead the investigation.

The agency on Friday produced close aides of Sharma, Jadhav and Shelar, and dismissed police inspector Sunil Mane before the NIA court. The court has extended the custody of Shelar and Jadhav till July 1 while Mane was sent to judicial custody and later taken to Taloja Jail.

During the hearing, public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves told the court that they have found incriminating evidence against the accused and that they needed further custody of Shelar and Jadhav. The NIA also claimed that they got to know about their social media accounts through which they were in touch with the co-accused in the case. The agency also noticed some activities on the social media handles of the accused and that they would write to the respective companies to get more details.

"They have travelled to different places in Maharashtra and Delhi where they will be taken to collect more evidence. But most importantly, we are trying to find out who funded them," Gonsalves told the court. According to sources, both Shelar and Jadhav went underground after the NIA recovered the red Tavera, which was allegedly used to kill Hiran. "We were tracking them since the Tavera was found," an NIA officer said.

Both Jadhav and Shelar were arrested by the NIA on June 11. "They have been confronted with the CDRs, IPDR and CCTV footage but they are misleading the investigation," the officer added.

11 June
Day when NIA arrested Jadhav and Shelar