Patna, Oct 8 (IANS): With the arrest of seven accused late on Wednesday, the police claim to have cracked the murder case of former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Shakti Malik.

Malik had been shot dead on October 3 in Purnea and an FIR registered against six people including RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, his brother Tej Pratap Yadav and four others, on the basis of the statement of Malik's wife Khushboo Devi

Purnea Superintendent of Police Vishal Sharma said Malik used to lend money to people at steep interest rates. "As a result, most of them were unable to repay the loans. He also used to make people sign blank cheques in order to to blackmail them."

"A day before the murder, Malik had applied pressure on the accused for four hours to arrange money and visit Patna. The accused got frustrated and decided to kill him. Accordingly, they eliminated him the next day," added Sharma.

Sharma said no evidence has been found against the six persons named in the FIR.

Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav had writen to CM Nitish Kumar, asking him to recommend the case for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.

In the wake of the FIR, NDA leaders including Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and BJP spokesman Sambit Patra had made statements about Yadav's alleged involvement in the case.

Chitranjan Gagan, the state spokesman of RJD said: "Following the arrests, Sushil Modi and other NDA leaders should be ashamed of making false statements against RJD leaders. They should make a public apology."