26-year-old gunned down in Modinagar, victim’s family names MLA’s husband in conspiracy

The police on Tuesday booked five people for the murder of a 26-year-old man in Modinagar in Ghaziabad on Monday evening and named three others, including the local MLA’s husband, for criminal conspiracy on a complaint filed by the victim’s family.

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Denying the allegations, the Modinagar MLA hinted at a political conspiracy to frame her husband.

On Monday evening, 26-year-old Akshay Kumar was called out of his house near Tibra road in Modinagar town by a few persons who fired several gunshots at him and fled from the spot.

The police said the victim was rushed to a hospital run by MLA Dr Manju Siwach and her husband Dr Devendra Siwach, where he was declared brought dead.

“The victim suffered several gunshots and succumbed to the injuries. His body was sent for an autopsy. Soon after the incident, local residents, along with the victim’s family, blocked the main road for about an hour but left the spot after being pacified by the police. They gave a police complaint and named eight persons, including three for criminal conspiracy,” said Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural).

The victim was arrested last year in a murder case and was out on bail on health grounds, the police said.

The five persons named in the FIR for murder and rioting are Ashwini Singh, Vikas Singh, Sappu Gurjar, Amit Kumar alias Chuhiya and Aditya Kumar alias Vasu. The three named for criminal conspiracy are Ruby Singh, who is the wife of suspect Vikas, Dr Devendra Shiwach and Ashish Kumar, who is the husband of a local pradhan of Tibra village.

“The victim has several cases against his name and had been to jail for killing a man named Dipendra Kumar alias Dippan. Akshay Kumar was granted bail in November on health grounds,” Jadaun added.

The police said most of the suspects named in the FIR were from Dipendra’s family or were known to him.

“Ruby is Dipendra’s sister and Vikas’ wife. Dipendra was murdered in April 2019 and since then Akshay had been in jail and came out on bail in November 2019. Earlier, Akshay and Dipendra were friends but became rivals after a dispute regarding a canteen that they ran together,” Jadaun added.

Manju Siwach denied all charges against her husband and said that it was up to the police to conduct a free and fair probe.

“I can only say that my husband’s name has been dragged unnecessarily into the incident. The victim’s family had brought him to our hospital and the on-duty doctor declared him brought dead. After that, my husband had a look at the patient but he was already dead. Out of nowhere, on Tuesday, the victim’s family named my husband in the case. I am sure that it is due to some political motives,” the MLA said.

“One of the reasons I could think of is that after the last year’s murder case, Akshay’s family had approached us to pressure the police to lodge a counter FIR against Dipendra’s family. But we refused to interfere and to take any side. Now, I want the police to probe the ongoing case in a free and fair manner,” she added.

Police on Wednesday said they had come across CCTV footage in which Ashwini is seen talking to the victim outside his house when an I-10 car arrived.

“Thereafter a shooting took place and one of the assailants, Anurag Tyagi, sustained suspected accidental injuries to his abdomen. Ashwini took him in the I-10 car to a private hospital in Meerut where Tyagi is in critical state. Ashwini, Vikas, Ruby and others are on the run. We arrested Ashwini’s brother Rahul Chaudhary for providing shelter to the assailants. So far, we have got no evidence against the MLA’s husband,” Jadaun added.

Police sources said that Akshay Kumar sustained about 7-8 gunshots fired from a close range.