In a chilling narrative emerging from Jaunpur, UP, hitmen executed journalist Ashutosh Mishra for a staggering sum of 10 lakh rupees, paid by cattle smugglers. Following a fierce exchange of gunfire, the notorious criminal Prashant Singh alias Prince was slain by the Jaunpur police. The weapon found on Prince was identified as the murder weapon used against Mishra.
It is worth mentioning that on the fateful afternoon of May 13, Ashutosh Shrivastav was brazenly shot dead in broad daylight in Shahganj, Jaunpur. The bereaved family duly reported a conspiracy involving cattle smuggler Jameeruddin and Hashim among four others in the Shahganj police station. Furthermore, the family accused that Ashutosh’s opposition to the conversion of a local pond land into a madrasa might have led to lethal threats and ultimately his orchestrated murder at the hands of the madrasa committee affiliates.
The shocking Ashutosth homicide sparked an intensive manhunt by the police, culminating on June 5 with a showdown near Khetasarai police station in Jaunpur. The one-lakh-rupee bounty on Prashant Singh alias Prince’s head culminated in a climactic police encounter. Prince, a notorious local criminal, had a history of hired killings and daring heists in Jaunpur and the surrounding regions. His accomplice Satish Singh had met a similar fate in a police skirmish two years earlier, whereas another associate, Kallu Fauji, surrendered in Delhi.
According to SP Jaunpur Ajay Pal Sharma, one particular number surfaced during the investigation – belonging to Prashant Singh alias Prince. For seven years, Prince had been a phantom for the Jaunpur police, with neither a photo on record nor a confirmed sighting. This shadowy existence allowed him multiple escapes, even from the midst of the most crowded markets. Capturing Prince's image was among the foremost challenges for the police force.
Source: aajtak
It is alleged that Prashant was contracted for Ashutosth Shrivastav’s murder for a hefty fee of 10 lakhs by Jaunpur’s cattle smugglers Jameeruddin and Hashim. The police assert that along with shooter Prashant, an accomplice was also involved in the execution, and his arrest is imminent with his identity already in the hands of authorities.
There's a twist - Jameeruddin had a dramatic confrontation with Jaunpur police involving a staged escape from Khandwa railway station while being transported from Mumbai. Later re-arrested in Bhiwandi, Jameeruddin has been remanded to jail by Jaunpur police.
On the other hand, Hashim had previously accused Ashutosh Shrivastav of a Dalit's murder and had concocted an attempt on his own life to frame Shrivastav. However, the police investigation debunked the narrative, revealing Hashim's deceit and resulting in his imprisonment.
Nonetheless, Santosh Shrivastav, Ashutosh’s brother, insists that Mumbai-based businessmen and Samajwadi Party leader Nasir Jamal and his sibling Arfi Sheikh are the masterminds behind the murder.
