Key accused in bomb attack on minister held

LUCKNOW - A key accused in last month’s bomb attack targeting Uttar Pradesh minister Nand Gopal Gupta alias Nandi has been arrested in Allahabad district, police said Tuesday.

Purushottam Dubey, who carried a reward of Rs.1 lakh for his capture in connection with his alleged involvement in the attack on the minister for institutional finance and stamps, was nabbed late Monday following a joint operation by police and Special Task Force (STF) personnel.

“Acting on a tip-off, we arrested Dubey from the Jagram crossing in Colonelganj area,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Shanker Dutt Shukla told reporters in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow.

Dubey’s arrest comes after the arrest of Jitendra Pandey, another accused in the case. Pandey was nabbed last Sunday from Allahabad itself.

The state government announced the cash reward of Rs.1 lakh on Dubey July 29.

Besides Dubey and Pandey, four people, including local Samajwadi Party leader Dileep Mishra, who is block chief of Allahabad district’s Chaka block and who allegedly masterminded the attack, are already in police custody.

The bomb blast took place July 12 near the minister’s house in Mutthiganj area of Allahabad.

Rakesh Malviya, 45, died on the spot, while five others, including the minister and a journalist, were injured in the blast. The journalist, Vijay Pratap Singh, succumbed to his injuries July 20 while being treated in a hospital in Delhi.

Gupta is recovering well at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) here, officials said.

The institutional finance and stamps portfolio is presently being looked after by Mines and Cooperatives Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha.