Prayagraj: On June 8, the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Bareilly Junction told reporters that one person had been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of Muslim cleric Mohammad Tousif Raza from Bihar’s Kishanganj district. Raza’s body was found near railway tracks in Bareilly more than a month ago.In a press note issued by the GRP police station at Bareilly Junction, the police stated that “on June 7, 2026, at around 8:30 pm, one accused, Pankaj Rajput, a 25-year-old resident of Moradabad, was arrested in connection with FIR no. 52/2026”.“With the help of the surveillance team, and based on information obtained through the PNR numbers of passengers, as well as video clips received from co-passengers with respect to the incident, the role of Rajput in the case was established,” the press note further stated.When asked whether video footage was the sole basis for identifying the accused in this case, GRP Station House Officer, Sushil Kumar Verma, while speaking to The Wire over the phone said, “Based on our investigation, his [Rajput’s] presence and identity were confirmed. There is evidence which we have mentioned in the case diary.”Earlier, speaking to local reporters, Inspector Anil Kumar Verma, Circle Officer GRP, said: “On June 7, 2026, we received information from a mukhbir (informant) that the accused was present on Platform No. 2, following which action was taken by the concerned police personnel and the said person was arrested.”The press note released by the GRP Police Station at Bareilly Junction mentioned the names of 12 police personnel who helped nab Rajput. While eight members of the team were from the Bareilly Junction police station, the remaining four were associated with the surveillance cell division of Moradabad. According to the police, Rajput has a criminal history and a cash award of Rs 10,000 had been announced in connection with the present case.During a brief interaction with local reporters, when Rajput was asked why he assaulted the Maulana, he had said, “I didn’t beat him. He had jumped [out of the train] on his own.” When asked why he would do so, or whether others were involved in the incident, Rajput did not say anything as the police took him away.Referring to Rajput’s role, the press note issued by the Bareilly GRP police station stated, “During the course of investigation, the accused revealed that on April 26, 2026, he was on his way to Bareilly in order to take part in a wedding and had consumed alcohol in Moradabad. ‘I was in an intoxicated state and missed getting down at Bareilly station and, when I came to know that someone’s mobile had been stolen, had an altercation with the Maulana, who had boarded the train from Bareilly.’”“After this [referring to the altercation with Maulana Tousif] the Maulana fell off from the train,” the press statement further stated, attributing this version of events to Rajput.As reported earlier by The Wire, on April 26, the Maulana had placed what would turn out to be his last call (a video call), to his wife Tabassum Khatoon, in which he told her about being attacked by a group of men while travelling on the Yog Nagari-Rishikesh Express. His family learnt about Tousif’s death the following morning, April 27. Days later, a post-mortem report, accessed by The Wire, recorded multiple ante-mortem injuries, including fractures in all his ribs.‘I am not fully satisfied’: Tabassum KhatoonBareilly Police had initially looked upon the incident as an accident, with an official statement claiming that “owing to excessive heat, Tousif, who was sitting near the gate, dozed off and fell off from the train”. It was only when his wife, Tabassum Khatoon filed a complaint on May 4 that an FIR was registered in the case. The FIR had been registered against unknown persons under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.When asked about the recent arrest by Bareilly GRP, Khatoon told The Wire, “They [GRP] are saying there was one accused. But to me it doesn’t appear from any angle that one individual could assault my husband to such an extent. I had seen [in the video call] there were three other persons as well.”“And the way he [Maulana Tousif] was being beaten up, I could hear voices of at least 3-4 other persons. Also, when the dead body reached home, just by looking at the injuries one could get a sense of the cruelty inflicted, so how can I say this was the work of one individual?” she said.“I am not fully satisfied,” Tabassum said, adding that she has not only followed the case closely but also made several appeals through media interviews urging the government to provide her a job so that she could support her family, including her ageing in-laws.“Since you are a woman, you would understand how difficult it is to run a household as a widow. Only me and my khuda know what I’m going through right now,” she told this reporter, when asked about how the family had been coping over the last two months since the tragedy.Aiding the family in their legal struggle is AIMIM Uttar Pradesh general secretary Nadeem Qureshi from Bareilly, who told The Wire, “When this incident came to light, our party president Asaduddin Owaisi wrote to the Railway Minister requesting that compensation be provided in this case, along with a job for a member of the victim’s family.”“The police did not have much information about the incident in the beginning. Later, following the account of the victim’s wife, who witnessed the assault during a video call, and due to pressure from us, the police finally registered an FIR,” Qureshi explained.When asked whether the police had shared any details regarding the trigger behind the assault, Qureshi said, “According to the GRP, while he [Maulana Tousif] had a ticket for the general compartment, he had boarded a reserved compartment, and that is when he was allegedly targeted by miscreants.”The GRP has so far announced the arrest of only one accused, Rajput, in connection with the case.