Delhi Police make fifth arrest in Preet Vihar murder

Police arrested five individuals, including an 18-year-old, in the murder of a businessman shot over a parking dispute in east Delhi.

New Delhi

The area where the incident took place. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

The police on Wednesday made a fifth arrest in connection with the murder of a 34-year-old businessman, who was shot dead over a parking dispute by his brother’s neighbour at a residential neighbourhood in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar, police said.

They said all accused have been arrested and identified the fifth accused as Aarush Sharma, the 18-year-old son of the prime accused, 45-year-old Gaurav Sharma. He was arrested near Meerut, on his way back to Delhi, after he handed over the gun used in the crime to an acquaintance in Noida and fled to Kullu in Himachal Pradesh and later to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, police said.

“We have arrested Aarush and seized the unlicensed pistol that belonged to Gaurav’s brother, who died in 2021 due to liver ailment. All five accused are now arrested,” deputy commissioner of police (east) Rajeev Kumar 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.

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, Gaurav Sharma, allegedly 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.

During the fatal brawl, Gaurav, who lives on the building’s first floor as a tenant, was reportedly accompanied by his son Aarush, nephew Sidharth, and two friends, Chain Singh and Sunil Sharma, both Noida residents. After allegedly shooting Pankaj in the chest, Gaurav allegedly punched Paras multiple times, causing injuries to his face, said an investigator, citing the CCTV footage of the crime.

“Gaurav, Chain and Sunil fled the crime scene on foot. Sidharth and Aarush fled on a motorcycle and reached Noida, where they parted ways. Sidharth spent the night at a friend’s Noida house, but did not tell him about the incident. Aarush met his mother in Noida and the two left for Kullu. The mother returned to Delhi on Wednesday morning and was picked up for questioning. She told personnel that Aarush had left for Rishikesh from Kullu but was returning to Delhi to meet her,” an investigator said.