Kaushambi (UP), Mar 24 (PTI) Police here on Friday arrested five persons for allegedly giving refuge to Abdul Kavi wanted in the murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, an official said.

Eight licenced arms and a country-made pistol were also recovered from their possession.

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The arrests were made during a police search to nab Kavi and his brother in Bhakhanda village under Sarai Akil police station.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said police teams had searched 11 houses in the village to find out those who sheltered Kavi.

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He said those arrested have been identified as Nizamuddin, Ajmal, Shahid alias Raju, Mohammad Aslam and Bilal.

"Abdul Kavi and his brother are wanted and they are absconding. Those arrested had given them shelter. Photographs of those arrested were found with Kavi, following which they were searched and arrested," Srivastava said.

He added that these five persons did not have an arms licence.

The arms recovered will be probed, he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal was murdered in 2005 in Prayagraj.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)