Vijayapura: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) worker Taufeeq Sheikh alias Pehalwan and his close aide Ejaz Biradar were arrested on Monday (June 3) in connection with the murder of Bijapur Congress leader Reshma Padeknur.
Padeknur was allegedly murdered, and her body was found near Korti-Kolhar bridge in Bijapur, Karnataka on May 17.
Speaking to reporters, Vijayarapura Superintendent of Police Prakash Nikam said that 31 criminal cases were pending against Shaikh in Maharashtra and about 20 cases against Biradar. While Shaikh is a native of Solapur in Maharashtra, Biradar is from Vijayapura district.
Earlier, Padeknur's husband had filed an FIR against the AIMIM leader following which a case of murder was registered.
A day before Reshma was found murdered, audio clips suggesting an illicit relationship between the deceased and AIMIM leader had gone viral. Reshma had also filed a case against Sheikh in April for threatening her.
Prima facie evidence, it was shown that she was killed and her body was thrown into a river, police said.
Before joining Congress, Padeknur served as the Janata Dal (secular) district president of women's wing for over a decade. In 2013, she had contested and lost elections from Devarahipparagi assembly constituency on a JD(S) ticket.
On being denied a JD(S) ticket in the last assembly polls in the state, Reshma had quit the party and joined Congress.