Deepak Bhardwaj's murder: Co-accused Pratimanand with Rs 1-lakh bounty arrested

The Ghaziabad Police on Saturday arrested Mahant Pratimanand, one of the main accused carrying a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head in Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Deepak Bhardwaj's murder case.

BSP leader and businessman Bhardwaj's younger son Nitesh had hatched the plot to kill him over family property dispute, while Mahant Pratimanand, who was on the run till now, had received a contract to arrange the shooters to eliminate Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj was shot dead on March 26, 2013 at his farmhouse, Nitesh Kunj located in Rajokri, Vasant Kunj area of New Delhi.

He was gunned down by 2 hired killers - Sunil Mann alias Sonu and Purushottam Rana alias Monu, who were later arrested.

Police also arrested Rakesh alias Bhola, the owner of the car used by the killers after the murder, and Rakesh Malik, a commercial pilot, who allegedly hired the shooters.

Nitesh and his aide and advocate-cum-property dealer Baljeet Singh Sehrawat were also arrested.

Bhardwaj had contested for 15th Lok Sabha from the West Delhi Constituency in May 2009.

Reportedly, he was the richest candidate for the 15th Lok Sabha elections with declared assets amounting to be more than 6 billion.