Ghaziabad: Women hatch family friend’s murder, 1 arrested with husband

On May 18, Gurmeet, Shivani and Anu had come to Shyam Dutt’s house in Behrampur on the pretext of searching for a rented house, they were family friends to Shyam and often visited him

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police arrested a 24-year-old man along with his wife from near Tigri roundabout during an early morning crackdown on Saturday in connection with a May 18 incident in which they allegedly robbed and murdered a 55-year-old man from nearby Behrampur locality.

Anu, a beautician, lived a lavish lifestyle and was burdened with a loan of ₹3 lakhs, and to get fast money, she planned with Shivani to target Shyam Dutt, police said. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police identified the prime suspect for murder as Gurmeet Sagar Singh and his 21-year-old wife as Shivani Singh – the residents of Old Faridabad. Gurmeet’s sister Anu Singh, 20, who lives in Shakurpur, Delhi, meanwhile, is absconding since the murder that took place on Saturday last week.

On May 18, the three -- Gurmeet, Shivani and Anu – came to the house of deceased Shyam Dutt, 55, in Behrampur on the pretext of searching for a rented house. They were family friends to Shyam and often visited him, police said.

Shivani and Shyam knew each other before her marriage as both originally belonged to Gajraula.

“About four years ago, Shivani had stayed at the house of the deceased for several months… Anu, a beautician, lived a lavish lifestyle and was burdened with a loan of ₹3 lakhs. In order to get fast money, she planned with Shivani to target Shyam Dutt. She was confident that they would find money at his house. The women also involved Gurmeet, and planned a robbery a week before the incident,” said deputy commissioner of police (rural) Vivek Chandra Yadav.

Police said that both Shivani and Anu visited Shyam’s house for robbery on May 17. But they could not muster enough courage to carry it out, and returned.

“On May 18, the two women arrived with Gurmeet. Shivani took the victim’s wife out on the pretext of searching for a rented house. In between, Gurmeet and his sister Anu overpowered the deceased (Shyam). But as he resisted, they stabbed him at least 14 times, injuring him critically. They searched for locker for money but could not find the keys. Thus, they fled with ₹8,000 kept in pocket of the deceased,” the DCP said.

Police said Shivani, on their return from rented room’s search, however opted to leave from outside the house than accompanying Shyam’s wife, knowing that Gurmeet and Anu would have escaped.

Meanwhile, Shyam’s wife on her return found her badly injured husband to a nearby hospital where he died during the treatment. Her family later lodged an FIR for murder and robbery against the three suspects at Crossings Republik police station.

Gurmeet has a past record of three cases of loot, theft and Arms Act against his name, said the DCP.

Both Gurmeet and Shivani have been arrested for murder, robbery and hatching a criminal conspiracy while the third suspect, Anu, is absconding, police informed.