#TipuSultan Murder - New CCTV Released
Police investigating the murder of Tipu Sultan are releasing new CCTV images of two men on a motorbike that detectives believe are responsible for his death. CCTV footage taken from Lumley Avenue and Lake Avenue show the motorbike at around 9:58pm on Tuesday April 7, moments after Tipu Sultan was shot and killed.
The bike left Lake Avenue, headed onto Lizard Lane before leaving the area towards Whitburn and Sunderland. The bike is thought to be a large, red, superbike or performance style bike and police are still trying locate it.
Anyone who thinks they recognise the bike or has any information as to its whereabouts is asked to contact police as soon as possible. On Sunday, April 12, a 35-year-old Newcastle man was arrested in connection with the murder. He has since been bailed pending further enquiries. As part of the investigation, searches have been carried out in Lizard Lane, Whitburn Golf Club and two premises in Netherton Avenue and Spence Terrace in North Tyneside. Detective Chief Inspector John Bent said:
"A 35-year-old Newcastle man was arrested in connection with the murder and he has been bailed pending further enquiries. I want to stress that this is still a live and ongoing investigation and we still very much need any information from the public that could help us find those responsible for Tipu's death. We've had a good response from the public in relation to the appeals we've made so far and have received a number of calls passing on information to the incident room. All of these calls are being followed up and any new information that comes to us will be acted on. Enquiries are ongoing to identify the motive behind the murder however we do not believe that this was a random shooting. We believe that the incident was preplanned and that Tipu was specifically targeted. We are obviously trying to find out the reason why and we are speaking to people who knew Tipu and trying to build up a picture of who he was and why someone might have done this. There is nothing to suggest that his killing was in any way connected to his race, religious beliefs or because of his nationality. We do not believe there is any risk to any other members of the public or any communities within South Tyneside. We've kept a visible presence in the Lake Avenue area since the incident in order to reassure local residents and businesses. Local people, the business community and especially the Bangladeshi community in South Tyneside, and Sunderland, have been extremely supportive of the work officers have been doing and I'd like to thank them for all the help we have received. We are supporting Tipu's family at this very difficult time and our thoughts continue to be his family and friends. We are doing all we can to find those responsible for his death."
You can see a video of the suspects below.
Anyone with any information that could help with enquiries is asked to contact police on 101 ext 69191 quoting reference number 1255 07/04/15. Information can be passed anonymously by ringing Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.