Three men allegedly shot dead their 25-year-old neighbour outside his house in Greater Noida’s Sakipur village early Wednesday following a dispute between the two families over burning garbage nearby, police said.
Four people, including the prime suspect’s mother, were booked on charges of murder at Surajpur police station, and prime suspect, in his 20s, was arrested following a gunfight on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday night, police also arrested his 38-year-old brother following a brief gunfight in Surajpur, Greater Noida. He sustained a bullet injury to his leg. Police teams have been formed to trace the remaining suspects.
The deceased has been identified as a resident of Greater Noida’s Sakipur village, who resided with his family—wife, mother, and two elder siblings. He got married around a year ago and was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in law.
“Our investigation revealed that the two families were locked in a dispute for some time. Around three days ago, they entered into a verbal argument over burning garbage outside the house,” said Rajeev Narayan, additional commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar (law and order).
“The suspect’s mother was also booked in the case, as it was she who provoked the prime suspect to kill the deceased,” he said.
The deceased’s cousin also corroborated this. “On Tuesday night, my brother had gone to attend a wedding in Greater Noida. Around 1.45am, he had returned home when his neighbour (the prime suspect) and family started abusing him verbally even before he got out of his SUV.”
“When my brother tried to avoid a fight, they abused him again to provoke him. He got down from the vehicle and one of them fired at him three times in quick succession — two bullets hit his chest and another above his thigh,” the cousin said.
“My brother somehow managed to run inside the house, after which the suspects left the spot,” he said. A video accessed by HT showed blood splatters at the entrance to the courtyard of the house. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Family members rushed the deceased to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Subsequently, the police were alerted and the crime scene was secured.
“Investigation revealed that the prime suspect fired at the deceased, using an illegal pistol,” said Vinod Kumar, station house officer, Surajpur. Police said that following a brief gunfight on Wednesday morning, he was arrested from Moserbaer junction in Greater Noida.
An official part of the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, “Prima facie, it came to light that the prime suspect’s mother prevented the deceased from burning garbage outside her home. Following this, they entered into a verbal argument, and the deceased is suspected to have misbehaved with her, which led to arguments and finally the killing.”
The deceased’s cousin refuted this and said, “My brother never entered into any fight with them. The dispute took place between the prime suspect’s family and the deceased’s uncle, who resides next door.”
Police said they have formed multiple teams to nab the absconders.
