3 more arrested for Preet Vihar businessman murder

Three more suspects arrested after a businessman was shot dead by a neighbor over a parking dispute in east Delhi. Investigation ongoing.

A day after a 34-year-old businessman was allegedly shot dead by his brother’s neighbour during a dispute over parking in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar, police on Tuesday said they had arrested three more accused in the matter. Details of the FIR also revealed that, on the day of the incident, the neighbour threatened to kill both brothers over the issue, even travelling to the victim’s residence in Noida to deliver his threat.

3 more arrested for Preet Vihar businessman murder

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday, when a verbal spat over parking at a residential building in A-Block, Preet Vihar, escalated into a brawl, culminating with the accused, identified as Gaurav Sharma, shooting Pankaj Nayyar dead with a pistol. Pankaj, a Noida resident, had come down to Delhi after his brother, Paras, 43, told him about the dispute.

Paras and his neighbour live on different floors of the same four-storey building and the two families had quarrelled over space in the stilt parking at least twice before in the past couple of months.

Gaurav, who had initially fled the crime scene, was later arrested from north Delhi’s Model Town. The victims had alleged Gaurav’s son, his nephew, and two others were also involved in the brawl.

On Tuesday, DCP (east) Rajeev Kumar said one of Gaurav’s cousin brothers and co-accused, Sunil Sharma (41), had been arrested from Noida.Sunil’s stepson, who is in his 20s, was also arrested from a hotel in Shahdara, the DCP said.

HT reached out to Gaurav’s family over the phone but they refused to comment on the matter. HT could not reach his legal representative.

Late night on Tuesday, a police official aware of the matter said one of Gaurav’s friend who was “present” at the spot had also been arrested from Noida and booked for murder.

Police have also recovered the murder weapon. A senior police officer aware of the investigation said, “He used an unlicensed pistol to kill the victim. The weapon earlier belonged to Sharma’s brother. The people arrested today also helped him threaten the victims and beat up the brothers.”

The FIR, lodged on a complaint by Paras and accessed by HT, detailed how Sharma had threatened to kill the brothers and that Paras had called Pankaj over fearing for his safety.

“Because the intentions of Gaurav Sharma and his family did not seem right to me, and I was alone at home, I informed my brother Pankaj Nayyar about the incident and told him that I did not feel safe at home due to the threats from Gaurav Sharma and his family,” said the FIR.

In the FIR, Paras also alleged that “Gaurav called me, abusing me profusely, and threatened me with dire consequences if I returned home.”

The investigation into the case revealed that Sharma has fought with other neighbours over parking space multiple times. Police said Gaurav was also arrested in 2021 over GST fraud in Ahmedabad for which he was in jail for two months.

Police said Sunil works as a property dealer in Noida while his stepson is preparing for UPSC exams.