Dey murder: Patil says criminals smart, not leaving clues

Mumbai, Jun 17 (PTI) Admitting that police was still
clueless to crack the Jyotirmoy murder case, Maharashtra
(Western Indian state) Home Minister R R Patil on Friday
stoked a potential controversy saying some criminals are "very
smart" and are not leaving any clues.
As Mumbai police groped in dark a week after the
killing of Dey, a senior investigating journalist, Patil said
the perpetrators were smart enough not to have left any clue
for the police to track them down.
"There are some criminals who are very smart. They are
not leaving any clues. That is why investigation is becoming a
little tough," he said responding to reporters's queries.
Patil's comments came in for sharp criticism from Shiv
Sena and CPI-M (Communist Party of India - Marxist).
Sena's Sanjay Raut demanded Patil's resignation for
making comments which reflected the inability of the police
department that comes under his jurisdiction to solve the
case.
Senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said Patil's
comments spoke "badly" about the police and that it did not
inspire confidence in them. "The state Home Minister should
not have spoken like that," he said.
Patil, however, reposed faith in the abilities of
Mumbai police and said the investigation in Dey's murder was
progressing in the right direction.
"We have full faith in the ability of Mumbai police.
These people (police) are on the right track and will surely
catch the accused. They should be given sufficient time. We
don't want to do anything that will distract or divert their
focus," he said.
Dey, Editor (special investigations) with city tabloid
Mid Day, was gunned down by four assailants last Saturday.
Though the police had apprehended three persons
believed to be members of the gang of Choota Shakeel, the
right hand man of fugutive ganglord Dawood Ibrahim, they were
let off apparently after police found no evidence of their
complicity in the crime.