Ghaziabad: FIR names five for gunning down hotel owner in Raj Nagar Extension

In Raj Nagar Extension, a man was shot dead by business partners over a hotel dispute. One arrest made, search for six others ongoing.

A 32-year-old man was shot dead by his business partners in a marketplace in Raj Nagar Extension at 9.30pm on Sunday, police said, adding that one accused was arrested on Monday while the search is underway for six others. The accused also shot the victim’s 25-year-old cousin, who is undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Rahul Dagar. (HT Photo)

The deceased was identified as Rahul Dagar, a resident of Sikrod in Ghaziabad who owned a hotel in Uttarakhand and another in Noida. The injured man was identified as Ashish Kumar, and the arrested accused was identified as Ritesh Bindal.

“Two shots were fired in the incident. One bullet hit Rahul in the chest, and the other hit Ashish in the leg. Bindal told us that he and the victims were friends but there was a dispute among them over a hotel they had jointly opened in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. We have registered a first information report and have deployed teams to arrest the other suspects,” said Dhawal Jaiswal, deputy commissioner of police (city zone).

The FIR was registered on Monday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103(1) (murder), 109(1) (attempt to murder), 191 (rioting), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation). The FIR names Nagendra Chaudhary, Manish Chaudhary, Rohit Chaudhary, Ritesh Bindal, Mantri (single name), and two unidentified people, as accused.

“On Sunday night, when Rahul was buying sweets, the accused called him for a meeting in the marketplace. When Rahul arrived at the meeting spot with his friends, the accused arrived in a car, shot Rahul and Ashish, and fled. Rahul’s other friends rushed him and Ashish to a hospital and informed the police,” Dagar added.

The FIR also said that accused Nagendra and Manish are brothers, and after opening the hotel in Haldwani, Nagendra allegedly diverted money to his personal bank account, which Rahul and another of his business partners, Sachin Sharma, objected to.