Ghaziabad contractor found strangled, cops pick up six for questioning

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police, in connection with the death of a 48-year-old government contractor in Hapur, have accessed the post-mortem report from Hapur police

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police, in connection with the death of a 48-year-old government contractor in Hapur, have accessed the post-mortem report from Hapur police and said it indicated that the man was strangulated. The police, on the basis of a complaint by his family, have registered an FIR of murder and destruction of evidence at the Kavi Nagar police station.

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According to police, the victim, Pawan Sharma, a resident of Balaji Enclave near Govindpuram, had left home on some work and did not return. His family members late Monday reached the residence of senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani and levelled allegations that his body was cremated as unidentified by the Hapur police. They also alleged that the Ghaziabad police had not shown any interest in searching for him.

“We came to know through some persons that the body of my brother was cremated as an unidentified body by the police in Hapur. It was recovered from a canal in Simbhaoli area. He had gone out on January 4 and told his family that he was going for some work in Anand Vihar, Delhi. He did not return. On January 5, we filed a missing person complaint with the Ghaziabad police but they did nothing,” Rohit Sharma, victim’s brother, said.

He said they received a call from Pawan’s phone, but it was someone else who spoke. The caller told the family that they were going to Kalkaji and would return the next day morning. The next day, when the family called on the number, the call was picked up but later the phone was switched off, Sharma said.

“We searched everywhere we could, and finally, we got a picture of my brother’s body. We rushed to Hapur only to find that his body was cremated by the Hapur police as unidentified. After we got to know of the cremation, we approached the SSP and he asked us to lodge an FIR at the Kavi Nagar police station,” Sharma said.

Circle officer Atish Kumar Singh Tuesday visited Hapur and accessed the post-mortem report.

“The report indicated that the man was strangled. The Hapur police cremated the body as per procedure — they waited for the mandated 72 hours. We have come to know that the victim would often remain aloof from the family and did not mingle much with people,” Singh said.

“We have picked up six persons for questioning and are also scanning electronic evidence of several persons. We have come to know that the victim could have got involved in some tantric rituals,” he said.