Fight over ‘damaged car’ leads to kidnap, murder of 24-year-old; two arrested

The police further said the victim was also known to four suspects as they had jointly set up a food stall together at Sikri Mela in Modinagar in 2023

The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday arrested two of four suspects who allegedly abducted a 24-year-old fast food vendor in their car on the night of May 14, killed him and dumped his body in a drain along Tibra Road in Modinagar, senior police officers said on Tuesday.

The police identified the two arrested suspects as Muzaffarnagar resident Taj Mohammad, 20, and Modinagar resident Puneet Gosain, 21. The police said two more suspects, Nikit Gurjar, 21, and Bittu Gurjar, 20, were absconding with the car used for kidnapping the deceased and a search is on to nab them. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police identified the two arrested suspects as Muzaffarnagar resident Taj Mohammad, 20, and Modinagar resident Puneet Gosain, 21. The police said two more suspects, Nikit Gurjar, 21, and Bittu Gurjar, 20, were absconding with the car used for kidnapping the deceased and a search is on to nab them.

Recapping the case, police said the body of Din Mohammad was found in the drain on May 15, and teams were formed to trace the suspects. The police said they came across several CCTV footage in which four suspects in a car were seen abducting the victim around 11.30pm on May 14 from Modinagar.

“Later, they took him 3-4 kilometres away to Tibra Road and beat him up severely. It is suspected that they then shot him dead and dumped his body in the drain. It was discovered a day later. We arrested two suspects and they revealed that all four suspects are friends, and had together planned Mohammad’s abduction and murder,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

“The car with Deepak belonged to his elder brother Nikit. Since that day, Nikit was planning to teach Mohammad a lesson and later planned his abduction and murder along with his friends,” DCP Yadav said.

Investigators said Nikit’s brother Deepak got married to a woman two years ago and later the two got separated about seven months ago. “Deepak had a fight with Mohammad as he suspected that he was friendly with his ex-wife. The police on the basis of mobile call records have found that Deepak’s ex-wife and Mohammad were in frequent touch over phone,” said an investigator, asking not to be named.

The police further said the victim was also known to four suspects as they had jointly set up a food stall together at Sikri Mela in Modinagar in 2023.

The police said that they booked the two suspects under Indian Penal Code section 364 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 130b (criminal conspiracy) at Modinagar police station.