PANAJI
Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar has assured an investigation into the source and timing of Suleman Siddiqui Khan’s fresh video, which went viral on the day he was being brought back to Goa following his controversial escape from police custody.
Replying to media concerns about videos of the accused being leaked while he was on the run and after his detention in Ernakulam, the DGP said they will investigate.
“We need to determine where and how the (new) video was recorded. This will come out during interrogation, and we will also look into the timing of its release,” he said.
The notorious criminal, Suleman, was detained in Kerala on Saturday evening and brought to Goa on Monday evening. Explaining the delay in informing the media, Kumar said they wanted to confirm the accused’s identity, as he is known to don multiple identities to evade arrest.
“We informed the Kerala police about his location after which he was detained. Our teams from Goa immediately left to take him in custody after completing legal procedures. We wanted to be doubly sure of his identity. Our team reached Kerala on Sunday to complete the process,” he said.
The DGP also replied to questions regarding former IRB constable Amit Naik being granted conditional bail, particularly because non-bailable charges were filed against him. This observation was also made by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Panaji while granting him bail last Saturday.
“Custodial interrogation was essential to understand the escape and to also trace the main accused, Suleman,” Kumar said further explaining, “When registering an offense, normally we consider the (accused's) behaviour, conduct and the type of offense to decide the applicable legal sections. That’s what we did here.”
On allegations of payment by Suleman to Naik for allowing him to flee from the lockup, Kumar said it would be probed. “As per Naik’s statement, Suleman promised him Rs 3 crore but gave him nothing. We will interrogate Suleman on this as well,” Kumar added.
To another question on political reactions into the matter, the DGP refused to comment while adding that while Amit Naik did fail the department, the entire department "has not failed" while adding that it should not demotivate the force.
