In a new twist to the Haji Yousuf death case, a mimic artiste has claimed in his confessional statement that the deceased used to pay him `2,000 for mimicking the voice of Union minister Farooq Abdullah to win the trust of people who allegedly gave money in return for getting a ministerial portfolio or any other government job.
The Jammu and Kashmir police had put Aizaz Malik, a 24-year- old youth from south Kashmir, under the scanner after the cellphone record of Syed Mohammed Yousuf Shah, alias Haji Yousuf, showed that the two were in touch on regular basis, official sources said here Sunday.
After questioning, Aizaz decided to record the confessional statement before a magistrate in south Kashmir during which he said that he had been mimicking many politicians, especially Dr Farooq Abdullah, allegedly at the insistence of Haji Yousuf.
In his two-page confessional statement, recorded under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code, the youth claimed that Yousuf used to pay him an amount of `2,000 for doing such a mimicry over the phone which used to help him in convincing people who had paid him for getting a ministerial berth or nomination to the Legislative Council or any other governmental work done.
His mimicry act was also recorded by the court which forms a part of the evidence, the sources said, adding that he had been receiving threats from some groups against deposing before the court.
Another person, who happens to be an eyewitness, Mohammed Yousuf Bhat, had also recorded his confessional statement.