Meerut: 22-year-old man stabbed, shot over old dispute; two held

According to preliminary information, Salim, who worked as a labourer, had left his house on Friday evening for a walk. When he reached near the village primary school, four men arrived on two motorcycles and surrounded him. They allegedly launched a series of knife attacks on Salim, inflicting deep wounds on his abdomen and back. They then allegedly slashed his throat and shot him in the chest before fleeing the spot.

A 22-year-old man was murdered allegedly over an old dispute in Meerut’s Sarurpur area on Friday night, with four assailants attacking him with knives before shooting him in the chest, police said on Saturday. Hours later, two of the named accused were arrested while a manhunt was launched for two others, they added.

Two named accused were arrested while a manhunt was launched for two others. (For representation)

The incident occurred in Dahar village, around 30 km from the Meerut district headquarters. The victim, identified as Salim alias Mannu, was the elder son of village resident Shahzad. He got married around one-and-a-half years ago, and the couple had a daughter.

According to preliminary information, Salim, who worked as a labourer, had left his house on Friday evening for a walk. When he reached near the village primary school, four men arrived on two motorcycles and surrounded him. They allegedly launched a series of knife attacks on Salim, inflicting deep wounds on his abdomen and back. They then allegedly slashed his throat and shot him in the chest before fleeing the spot.

A large crowd of villagers soon gathered at the spot, raising slogans against the police.

As tension escalated, Meerut (rural) SP Abhijeet Kumar took charge of the situation and ordered the formation of four police teams, including the SWAT team, to track down the attackers.

“A case has been registered against and raids are being conducted at possible hideouts to arrest the two other suspects, while further investigation is underway,” the SP (rural) said.

The body was sent for the post-mortem examination and vehicles were checked even as police began gathering information from local sources. Acting on an input from an informer, police arrested two named suspects, Md Shahzad and Gulzar, within around two hours, officials said.

Preliminary police investigation indicated that the murder may have stemmed from an old dispute between Salim and Shahzad and Gulzar during Eid last year, they added.

According to police, an argument between them had escalated into a physical fight, following which a case was registered at Sarurpur police station. Investigators suspect the accused had been holding a grudge over the incident and allegedly attacked Salim when they got an opportunity.

Officials said police were questioning the arrested suspects to establish the sequence of events and identify the roles of all those involved.