Family protests on road over murder of 22-year-old in Ghaziabad

Hours after a 22-year-old man allegedly was stabbed to death by several people at the New Shanti Nagar locality, near Crossings Republik Township in Ghaziabad, his family on Thursday morning briefly blocked a National Highway-9 on Thursday, leading to massive snarls

Hours after a 22-year-old man allegedly was stabbed to death by several people at the New Shanti Nagar locality, near Crossings Republik Township in Ghaziabad, his family on Thursday morning briefly blocked a National Highway-9 on Thursday, leading to massive snarls.

At around 11.30am, family members of the deceased, along with locals, staged a protest on the nearby NH-9 for about 45 minutes, demanding a strict action against the suspects. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police identified the victim as Mohit Sharma. The incident took place on Wednesday night after he was allegedly invited to a birthday party by six of his friends to a house in the area, where they stabbed him to death.

Police said the incident was reported to them at around 3.30am. The victim was rushed to MMG hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Three named and three unidentified people, all in their 20s, have been booked in the case, police said. A 23-year-old man has been arrested.

Primary investigation shows that a nearly two-week old dispute was the motive for the murder.

“About a fortnight ago, there was also some dispute between the deceased and the suspects. But they patched up later. Thereafter, they also undertook two outstation trips together,” Sweta Singh, SHO of Crossings Republik police station, told HT.

“Preliminary investigation revealed there was another fight late Wednesday night, which led to the stabbing. We have received a complaint and legal action is underway,” assistant commissioner of police Priyashri Pal said in a video statement.

At around 11.30am, family members of the deceased, along with locals, staged a protest on the nearby NH-9 for about 45 minutes, demanding a strict action against the suspects.

Deputy commissioner of police, Ghaziabad, Dhawal Jaiswal said, “We cannot say much about protesters’ demands. After being pacified, they cleared the road. However, our teams have arrested the 23-year-old prime suspect. Initial investigation revealed that he had a fight with the deceased previously and he was the one who brutally stabbed him late Wednesday night. The role of others is also being ascertained.”

A first information report was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 103(1) (murder) on Thursday following a complaint from the victim’s family, against three named suspects and three unidentified persons, aged between 21 and 25, at the Crossings Republik police station.

The family said it learnt about the incident around 3am, with his sister claiming that the victim had “five to six major stabbing wounds, including one near his heart”.

“The suspects had recently even taken him to Khatu Shyam (Sikar, Rajasthan) and Haridwar for trips. They were planning another trip to Vrindavan,” the 20-year-old told HT.

Manish Sharma, the victim’s brother, said that there had been an altercation between Mohit and the suspects “about 15-20 days ago”. At the time, they had threatened him.