A month on, police are yet to trace the killers of rtd defence officer
A month after the murder of 67-year-old defense officer Hari Prasad in Greater Noida, his family lives in fear as police lack leads or motive.
With no leads or even an established motive in nearly a month since the murder of a 67-year-old defence officer in Greater Noida’s Bisrakh locality, the victim’s family say they are living in uncertainty and fear, and are now afraid of even venturing alone out of their home.
Investigators said Hari Prasad, originally from Agra, who resided in the Stellar Jeevan Society, was seated on a roadside park bench near his house on August 7 at around 12.30pm when he was shot in the neck at point-blank range.
Prasad was posted in Agra, where he retired in 2015 as a senior auditor in the controller of defence (CDA), pension department. He is survived by three sons residing in Greater Noida and Delhi.
“It’s been a month since my father was shot dead in broad daylight. My family has been constantly living in darkness and fear without having any clue about the killers. After the murder, we avoid going out alone due to constant fear of killers,” said Prasad’s youngest son, Pankaj Kumar, who lived with his father.
“We have approached police multiple times in the past month, but they are yet to gather any clue. They (police) investigated the case from every angle, including checking our background, family dispute, and personal enmity,” said Kumar, adding that police have told them that they are “yet to find any motive behind the murder.”
“If there is no motive behind the murder, why was a retired man killed in such a brutal way? My father did not deserve the way he was killed; police can at least nab the suspects and find the motive. There are multiple CCTV cameras and other technical parts, but this is a police failure,” added Pankaj.
On August 8, HT reported that the family members of Prasad said his wallet and gold ring were not stolen, and that only his cellphone was missing. This, they said, raised suspicions of a professional hit job, even though they asserted that they did not have any personal or professional enemies.
“We were informed by cops that the mobile location of my father’s phone was last recorded near Paramount Golf Foreste in Greater Noida and in Ghaziabad,” added Kumar.
Police, however, asserted that they are investigating the crime and hope to arrest the suspect soon.
“Efforts are underway to nab the suspect, but no solid proof has been found yet. The mobile number of Prasad was also put on surveillance and soon we will nab the suspect,” said, Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Central Noida assistant commissioner of police.
ACP Kumar also denied that Prasad was killed due to a family dispute or robbery. “Our teams are investigating the case to ascertain the motive behind the murder,” he added.