LAHORE, Jan 19: Police kept interrogating an adviser to the Punjab chief minister and a superintendent of police (SP) on Friday for their alleged role in the killings of Arif Bhinder and Niaz Sindhu.

Both the accused nominated in the murders, however, were being treated with protocol and were not formally taken into custody, Dawn has learnt.

“As both accused are influential, police have been directed to treat them gently,” sources said.

Dawn also learnt that investigators remained clueless to prove the roles of Intelligence Bureau SP Malik Kamran Yousaf and ruling PML’s MPA Mansha Sindhu in the killings of Punjab additional advocate-general Arif Bhinder and advocate Niaz Sindhu.

Both the lawyers were killed on Jan 12 in separate incidents.

The investigators also failed to glean information from the accused that could help police arrest the ‘real’ murders.

“Kamran says he is neither directly or indirectly involved in the murder,” sources quoted the serving SP as saying.

Both accused appeared before police on Thursday evening and the SSP (Investigation) and the Cantonment SP (investigation) interrogated them.

“Police have recorded statements of both accused but their link with the murderers could not be established,” the Cantonment SP told Dawn.

The deputy inspector general (Investigation) also could not satisfy reporters at a news conference on Friday about any development in the Bhinder case, saying police were trying to arrest the killers.