Man arrested for murder of truck driver in G Noida after gunfight

The suspect was following the deceased man from Mathura, and killed him when he got a chance to stop him on the Noida Expressway

Days after a 19-year-old truck driver was murdered in Greater Noida, police officers on Sunday said they had arrested the killer, adding that the deceased man and the suspect were involved in a scuffle at a truck stop in Jharkhand more than a month ago.

Amit Kumar (centre) in police custody after a gunfight. (HT Photo)

“The deceased man was identified as Imran Ansari, 19, a resident of Mohanpur village in Bihar. He was a truck driver,” said Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

“On the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, we received information on Dial-112 that a body was discovered inside the cabin of a parked truck on the Noida Expressway in Greater Noida,” said ADCP Kumar. “The man’s neck was slit by a sharp edge weapon and his mobile phone and wallet were missing. After identifying him, we informed his family members and registered a murder case at Rabupura police station on Friday,” said ADCP Kumar.

He added, “We tracked the suspect, Amit Kumar, 40, who is from Sonipat, Haryana, with the help of CCTV cameras and local intelligence. We arrested him from the Chandigarh trisection on Saturday at 6 pm. Amit revealed that at least one-and-a-half months ago, while he was cooking at a truck stop in Jharkhand, Ansari spit pan masala close to his food.”

“When Amit objected, a fight ensued, and Ansari and three or four of his friends assaulted him. Amit then resolved to exact vengeance and noted down the registration number of Ansari’s truck,” said ADCP Kumar, adding, “On Thursday, when Ansari was passing through Mathura, Amit identified him and followed his truck until the Noida Expressway.”

“Amit devised a plan with his friend Phool Singh, a Moradabad resident, and stopped him under the guise of a flat tyre. After killing Ansari’s neck, they parked his truck in a remote area near the Jewar toll plaza and fled to Sonipat,” said Sudhir Kumar, station house officer of the Rabupura police station.

“After being taken into custody, the suspect somehow managed to grab the pistol of a sub-inspector to escape,” SHO Kumar added. ADCP Kumar said, “In his defence, SHO Kumar shot him in the leg and arrested him. On Sunday, his accomplice, Phool Singh, was arrested in Jhajhar, Bulandshahr.”

According to ADCP Kumar, Amit had murdered a man named Pravesh in Bahadurgarh in 2013. “He’s been out on bail for the past three years,” he added.

Amit was arrested on charges of murder, attempt to murder and resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension, under the Indian Penal Code, at Rabupura police station.