Ghaziabad property dealer killed, body driven 30km to Dadri forest and burnt; two arrested
Police investigation revealed that on Tuesday, Yadav consumed beer with the two men, and later he was strangulated by Rajput and Chaudhary using a dog collar in Ghaziabad. To pass off the murder as an accident, they took the body to a forested area in Dadri and torched the vehicle
A 46-year-old man, whose skeletal remains were recovered from inside a burnt Toyota Fortuner in Greater Noida’s Dadri locality on Tuesday night, was allegedly strangulated by two of his friends using a dog collar to steal his gold and cash, senior police officers said on Wednesday, adding that the two men have been arrested.
According to police, their investigation revealed that the suspects strangulated the man in Ghaziabad and drove his Fortuner 30km to Luharli toll plaza in Dadri, Greater Noida, where they parked the vehicle in the forest area, around 150 metres from the main road, and torched the SUV with the body in it, to make it look like he died in an accident.
The deceased has been identified as Sanjay Yadav, a property dealer who resided in Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad. Yadav survived by his wife, a 14-year-old son, and a 17-year-old daughter.
The arrested suspects were identified as Vishal Rajput and Jeet Chaudhary, both residents of Madhuban Bapudham in Ghaziabad. Police said the two were Yadav’s friends, but they had a falling out over some monetary dispute.
“On Tuesday around 11.15pm, police were alerted by locals that an SUV had caught fire in the forest area near Luharli toll plaza in Dadri, Greater Noida,” said a senior police officer, asking not to be named, adding that on getting information, a police team rushed to the spot, and the fire control room was also alerted.
“We received information around 11.20pm, and a fire tender from Dadri fire station was dispatched. When firefighters reached the spot, it was found that the car was parked in the forest area. With the help of one fire tender, we managed to douse the flames within an hour. A man was spotted in the driver’s seat in the burning car, but he appeared motionless,” said an officer of the Greater Noida fire brigade, asking not to be named.
Police said the man’s remains were recovered and sent for a post-mortem examination. A forensic team and a dog squad were also called in to investigate the crime scene.
“We got to know that Yadav left home for work on Tuesday around noon. When he did not return even by late evening, his family members tried calling him. When his phone remained switched off even late into the night, they approached the local police station,” said the officer quoted above.
While his family was busy trying to locate him, they received information from Greater Noida police that Yadav had died after his SUV caught fire. The man was identified with the help of the registration number of the vehicle, police said.
“Yadav’s family members told us that he left home with his two friends Vishal Rajput and Jeet Chaudhary. It came to fore that the Yadav had a quarrel with them. So we detained the two men for questioning,” said Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.
“Our investigation revealed that on Tuesday, Yadav consumed beer with the two men, and later he was strangulated by Rajput and Chaudhary using a dog collar in Ghaziabad. To pass off the murder as an accident, they took the body to a forested area in Dadri and torched the vehicle,” said ADCP Kumar, adding that Yadav’s gold bracelet, ring, chain, two mobile phone and ₹6,250 cash were recovered from the possession of the suspects.
The ADCP said as the incident took place in Ghaziabad, they registered a zero FIR under sections 103(1) (murder), 309(6) (robbery) and 238 (disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and will transfer it to Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad.
“The Greater Noida police need to prove the man was killed in our jurisdiction. If they failed to do so, we cannot register the case at Kavi Nagar police station as the body and car were found in their jurisdiction,” said Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, Ghaziabad (City).