Lie detector for BJP politician in Shehla Masood murder case

Bhopal:  A CBI court has today ruled that a BJP leader from Bhopal will have to go through a lie detector test. Dhruv Narayan Singh, a MLA, has been interrogated thrice in connection with the murder of activist Shehla Masood who was found dead in her car last year.

Ms Masood's assassination was allegedly planned by Zahida Parvez, an interior decorator who was jealous of the activist's close friendship with Mr Singh. Ms Parvez was allegedly involved with the 53-year-old MLA, and stalked him secretly. The CBI believes she monitored his phone bills to track who he was in touch with, and followed him once to Ms Masood' home. These details were revealed by a diary that Ms Parvez fastidiously maintained; it is now important evidence against her.

The interior decorator who was arrested last week has consented to a lie detector test. Two men who helped her kill Ms Masood have also been arrested; so has a woman named Saba Farooqi who was close to Ms Parvez and was aware of her plans to murder the activist.

Mr Singh, the son of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Govind Singh, was also chairman of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) and Bhopal Development Authority (BDA). 

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Shehla Masood murder: Farooqui sent to three-day CBI custody

Indore:  A special CBI court today sent Saba Farooqui, a close friend of architect Zahida Parvez who is the alleged mastermind of RTI activist Shehla Masood's murder, to the agency's custody till March 6.

She was produced before special CBI judge Subhra Singh, who sent her to three-day custody of the Central agency, which is probing the case.

Farooqui was arrested yesterday in Bhopal and brought to Indore this afternoon by a CBI-Special Crime Branch team.

The CBI spokesperson had said in New Delhi that she is understood to be aware of the crime and believed to have assisted in the conspiracy.

Farooqui was an employee of Parvez for last five to six months and had developed close friendship with her, CBI sources said. They said she knew Parvez's relations with a BJP MLA and was also aware about her growing resentment towards Masood, also believed to be close to the politician.

From the personal diary of 36-year-old Parvez, recovered by the agency on Thursday during its searches at her residence, the CBI has found some entries which show close proximity of Farooqui with the architect, they said.

One such entry shows that both had celebrated on the evening Masood was murdered, the sources said.

Masood was shot dead outside her house at Koh-e-Fiza locality on August 16 last year when she was going to take part in protests in support of Jan Lokpal Bill.

An RTI activist, Masood had worked in several areas including environment protection, conservation of wildlife and anti-corruption movement.

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Diary detailing love affair, jealousy holds clues to Shehla Masood's murder

Bhopal:  The diary of Zahida Parvez, an interior designer from Bhopal arrested this week, may nail its author for the murder of Shehla Masood. In August last year, Ms Masood, a Right to Information activist who was well-known in Bhopal, was found dead in her car outside her home.  The CBI believes that Ms Parvez, seized by jealousy, hired a hit-man to assassinate the activist.
Ms Masood was known locally for her close ties to different BJP politicians. One of them, an MLA named Dhruv Narayan Singh, was allegedly romantically involved with the interior designer.  Ms Parvez's diary, with entries in Hindi and Urdu, documents her relationship with the MLA, as well as her escalating suspicions over the nature of his friendship with Ms Masood.  She allegedly tracked the MLA's phone bills closely to keep tabs on his private life. In the diary, recovered by investigators from her office, she wrote in March last year, "Either, I will commit suicide or I will kill those who are close to Dhruv.'
The CBI believes that she then befriended a local contract killer who in turn hired the men who actually shot Ms Masood.
In her diary, on the day of the murder, Ms Parvez writes that she received a phone call from the contract killer who said "Congratulations, the work has been completed in front of the house."
More evidence against the interior designer could come from a friend of hers named Saba Farooqui who was also arrested today.  Accompanied by her friend, Ms Parvez allegedly stalked the MLA; one day, her diary shows, she saw him entering Ms Masood's home.
The dead activist's father, Masood Sultan, says that to the best of his knowledge, his daughter did not know the woman arrested for her murder.  He also acknowledges that Mr Singh was a frequent visitor to his home.  He told NDTV today that the MLA was the first person he called after he learnt his daughter had been killed.  "He just kept quiet," he recalled. "I expected him to ask for details but he did not. Then he came to the house to offer his condolences. After that he never came to meet us," he said.

Mr Singh has been interrogated by the CBI. 

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