A week after the murder of the senior crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey, the Mumbai Police control room on Saturday received an anonymous phone call from Yemen with the caller saying Indian Mujahideen was behind the killing.
"A person called from Yemen and said that the IM hired shooters from Kashmir and bumped Dey off," a senior Crime Branch official said.
Mumbai police officials said that the call was received around 5.30 pm on Saturday. The caller who did not identify himself said the journalist was murdered by one Mohammed Rafi who belonged to the IM.
However, the police are verifying the call as the IM does not have a presence in Kashmir, the officials said.
"We are taking all the information seriously given by anybody," added the official.
The official also said that now they have 9 CCTV images with them, using which they have reconstructed the event.
The police official also said they have received the telephone record of the period between 1.31 pm, when Dey left from his mother's place, and 2.45 pm, when he was shot dead.
"This is a crucial time because now we will know who all had called Dey and with whom all he spoke to," said the official.
He said if police get the minute details of those 75 minutes, they will be able to make a "major breakthrough" in the case.
The Crime Branch official also said they have questioned 150 people till now in connection with the murder of Dey.
The police official said Mateen Iqbal Hatela, one of the persons who was detained, had misled the police by confessing to the crime. But he could not give details like the spot where Dey was shot and whether Dey was walking or was on a bike.
"Mateen had said that out of the Rs 70,000 that he had received, he gave Rs 40,000 to another person called Raja Salvi, who Mateen claimed was with him during the (murder) execution. But why would Mateen pay Salvi when Salvi had received an equal amount?" the official said.
Dey (56), Editor (Special Investigation) with Mid-Day, who extensively covered underworld and crime for over two decades, was shot dead by four assailants in suburban Powai last Saturday.
Anna writes to PM
Social activist Anna Hazare has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the matter.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Anna Hazare requested the PM to look into the details of the case and take necessary actions. Click here to read Hazare's letter to Dr Singh
