PESHAWAR: Police claimed on Monday to have resolved the murder case of minority MPA of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Sardar Soran Singh, by arresting six suspects, including a minority activist of the party.

“It was a politically-motivated murder,” Regional Police Officer (RPO) of Malakand, Azad Khan, said while talking to reporters.

Soran Singh, a member of the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly representing the Sikh community, was shot dead in his native Buner district on Friday.

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had promptly claimed responsibility for the murder. “He was killed not because he was a Sikh but because he was a prominent leader of the PTI”, a statement issued by the militant organisation said.

But the RPO debunked the TTP’s claim and said that a PTI minority activist from Swat, Baldev Kumar, had masterminded Soran Singh’s murder for upstaging him in clinching the party ticket for a KP Assembly seat.

He said that Kumar in cahoots with Alam Khan, a PML-N councillor from Shangla, received help by three other people to obtain the services of a hired assassin, Mukhtiar Mohammad.

The group had a meeting at a restaurant in Sowaray area of Buner to finalise details of the assassination plot, an official of the Counter-Terrorism Department of police said.

“The whole assassination plot cost Rs1 million, of which the assassin was to be paid Rs200,000,” he said.

The CTD got involved in the case due to the high-profile murder of Soran Singh, who was also special assistant to the KP chief minister, he said.

“Soon afterwards we made a breakthrough by arresting a local mechanic, Behroz, on a tip-off. This led to further arrests, including those of a brother of Behroz and the other main accused.

“The mechanic provided the gun which was used in the assassination. His brother Akbar Ali helped with reconnaissance and identifying Soran Singh, who was hit by a single bullet in the head from close range.”

During interrogation, the official said, Behroz revealed names of his accomplices — Akbar Ali, target killer Mukhtiar Mohammad, Said Jan, Baldev Kumar and Alam Khan.

The gun and the motorcycle used in the murder had been recovered, the CTD official said. The Caller Data Record proved the presence of the assassin and the local facilitator in the area when the murder took place.

Mr Azad said that police had provided two security guards to Soran Singh but he did not use escort while visiting his hometown as he considered it a burden.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2016