Woman architect arrested in Shehla Masood murder case

Bhopal: In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a woman architect for being involved in the murder of activist Shehla Masood, said an agency official on Tuesday. Shehla was murdered in Bhopal last August.

The accused, identified as Zahida Pervez, was arrested from Bhopal.

“Pervez is presently in CBI custody and it is believed that she had some personal rivalry with the RTI activist,” said the official.

Pervez had reportedly told the CBI investigators that she had hired a contract killer to get Masood eliminated.

The 32-year-old Masood was shot dead in broad daylight in front of her house. The CBI had taken over the case three weeks after the murder.

A CBI team from Delhi arrived in Bhopal Monday to take over the investigations.

The team, comprising Joint Director Keshav and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Arun Bosra, reviewed the investigation done so far.

The Bhopal unit of the CBI had been looking into Shehla’s murder since the first week of September and even announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone giving information leading to the arrest of the assailants.

However, as it failed to make any headway in the matter, the probe was handed over to the Delhi team.

Reacting to the development, Shehla’s father Masood Sultan said, “I thank God. I have come to know through media reports. No one has officially told me about the arrest.”

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PTI