6 arrested for Sahibabad double murder; duo killed over illegal factory

The three prime suspects are Janak Singh, who was operating the factory on land leased out by Sanjeev Kasana and his brother Vinod, said police officers. Of the three, Vinod is on the run, said police officers

Six men were arrested on Friday for allegedly murdering two men and dumping their bodies in jungle areas near Ristal in Sahibabad.

The six arrested for the double murder at Harsaon Police Lines in Ghaziabad on Friday. Two are owners of the land on which they illegal chemical factory was operating and they were booked for murder with common intention. The four others are labourers at the factory who dumped the bodies in jungle areas. They were booked for destruction of evidence. The factory operator is on the run. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The deceased men, Durgesh Kasana and Gaurav Kasana, were missing since the evening of December 31, when they went to drop off a friend at Sahibabad bus stand, and their bodies were recovered on January 4 in jungles of Mehmoodpur and Chirori. Their murder was the fallout of a dispute over an illegal chemical factory, said police officers.

The three prime suspects are Janak Singh, who was operating the factory on land leased out by Sanjeev Kasana and his brother Vinod, said police officers. Of the three, Vinod is on the run, said police officers.

The four others who were arrested, Pintu Lal, Virender Singh, Sukhbir Singh and Anuj Singh, are labourers from Bareilly who were working at Janak’s chemical factory, said police officers.

“The two deceased men had had previous altercations with the factory operator and the land owners. They wanted to shut down the factory,” said Abdur Rehman Siddiqui, in-charge of Ghaziabad crime branch.

“On December 31, the deceased men went to the factory at 10.30pm on their bike and an altercation broke out. Janak Singh phoned the two landowners and asked them to come to the factory. When they arrived, Janak Singh and Sanjeev Kasana opened fire at Gaurav while Vinod Kasana attacked Durgesh with a sharp-edged axe,” Siddiqui added.

After Gaurav and Durgesh were dead, their bodies were taken by the four labourers 1.5km away on a cot and dumped 800 metres apart in jungle areas, police officers said.

Autopsy reports showed that the deceased men had slit-throat injuries and Gaurav also had gunshot wounds.

“After the First Information Report was lodged for murder, the families of the deceased men voiced suspicion about the role of factory operators in the murder. We roped in electronic surveillance and local informers. The suspects were nabbed and revealed the plot. Our forensic teams also picked up samples from the scene of crime inside the factory. The factory was shut since the murder but Janak Singh was visiting it often,” Siddiqui said.

Janak Singh, Vinod and Sanjeev Kasana were booked for murder with common intention while the four labourers were booked for destruction of evidence, said police officers.

The deceased men were opposing the illegal chemical factory because it was spreading pollution in the area, their family members alleged.