Anand : Police have arrested two youths in connection with the murder of former Anand Nagarpalika councillor Iqbal Malek, alias Bala, who was stabbed to death during his morning walk near Goya Lake in the Bakrol area of Anand town on Tuesday.

Malek, a former Congress councillor from Ward 1, was attacked multiple times with sharp weapons. Special teams from Vallabh Vidyanagar police station and the Local Crime Branch (LCB) were formed to track down the killers. The accused, Faizal Iliyas Hussain Malek (23) and Ayan Altaf Malek (20), both residents of Sureli village in Umreth taluka, were arrested shortly after the crime.

Though the walking track at Goya Lake had no CCTV cameras, investigators scanned footage from nearby areas. “We scrutinized the movements of nearly 20 suspicious motorcycles seen in the footage. The two accused were identified riding a motorcycle with their faces covered near the crime scene. Using human and technical intelligence, we confirmed their involvement and traced them to Ahmedabad,” said D. R. Gohil, police inspector of Vallabh Vidyanagar station.

He added that the duo sustained minor injuries while attacking the former councillor and later visited a hospital in Ahmedabad for treatment, where they were apprehended with the help of local police.

Regarding the motive, officials said the killing appears to be linked to a 2023 incident in which Faizal Malek was allegedly assaulted and publicly paraded in Vallabh Vidyanagar by Iqbal Malek and his supporters.