New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Police are working "on all angles" to find out the motive behind the killing of NIA officer Tanzil Ahmad, who was shot 21 times in an attack by unidentified assailants post-midnight on Saturday.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in Lucknow, assured that the death will be probed while NIA spokesperson Sanjeev Kumar said in Delhi that Ahmad was a "martyr".
The shooting in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district took place when the officer, an assistant commandant in the Border Security Force (BSF) and currently on deputation with NIA as an inspector since 2010, was returning from a wedding with his wife and children. His wife Farzana received four bullet injuries, but his children were unharmed.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking on the sidelines of a function in Lucknow, assured that the murder will be probed.
"I have spoken to the officers concerned. Our teams have gone there to probe the matter and they will submit a comprehensive report very soon," he said.
The officer was laid to rest with full state honours in Shaheen Bagh area of south Delhi.
"He is a martyr," Kumar said referring to Ahmad.
"He will be given all dues that is given to someone killed in service," Kumar told IANS.
An official statement issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) called it a "great loss".
"Tanzil Ahmed was an asset to the agency. His killing is a great loss to NIA. We take it as a challenge to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. We will not rest until that happens," the statement said.
"The assailants came on motorbikes and opened fire from a close range on Ahmad near Sahaspur town," Sanjeev Kumar told reporters here earlier Sunday.
Ahmad's wife who also received bullet injuries is undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital in Noida. A neighbour meanwhile said that the children escaped unharmed because Ahmad instructed them to hide under the seat when the firing started.
Uttar Pradesh's Additional Director General of Police Daljit Chowdhary, meanwhile, said it appeared as a planned attack, and the police was working out on all angles.
"Nothing can be ruled out now until and unless we get absolute concrete evidence. We have to work on all angles. We have to see it from all the sides and work out the case," he said, adding the borders had been sealed, nearby areas were searched and senior officials from Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) have been put on the job to track the assailants and probe the attack.
"I am very hopeful that we will work out the case and arrest the accused. It looks like a planned attack. It was definitely not a robbery," Chowdhary said.
The NIA has also termed Ahmad's killing as a "planned attack".
"A planned attack took place on him when he was fired upon and killed," Kumar said.
The premier investigating agency is trying to find out how he was tracked by his assailants.
Doctors at Fortis Noida, where Ahmad's wife is being treated, meanwhile said she is being given the best treatment.
"The patient has been brought in a critical condition. Our doctors are providing the best medical treatment to treat the patient. As a matter of patient confidentiality we cannot comment anything further," a statement from the Fortis Noida said.
Ahmad was pronounced dead on being taken to a medical facility in Moradabad.
Before joining the NIA, Ahmad was part of the in-house team of BSF, providing vigilance cover. He also held tenures as instructor at BSF Academy at Tekanpur, near Gwalior, and training centre at Hazaribagh.
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