Ghaziabad: Man held for killing his niece on New Year’s Eve

A 35-year-old man, Neeraj Singh, was arrested for murdering his niece, Soni, over her impending marriage, after a gunfight with police in Ghaziabad.

A 35-year-old man was arrested on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday for his alleged involvement in the murder of a 26-year-old woman whose body was found at the Podium Park adjacent to the Vaishali Metro station in Ghaziabad on New Year’s Day,

During interrogation, the man told police that the woman was pressuring him to leave his family and get married to her. So, he planned to get rid of her. (HT Photo)

Police said the man was arrested following a brief gunfight with police near the Vaishali culvert early Monday.

The suspect identified as Neeraj Singh, the deceased woman’s uncle. Police said he opened fire at the police team around 1.30am (Monday) and was shot in the leg in the retaliatory fire near the Vaishali culvert, said officers.

He was held along with a countrymade weapon and a bloodstained murder weapon, which he was on his way to dispose of, they added.

On January 1, some morning walkers had alerted the police about the body of a woman, later identified as Soni (single name), a resident of Bhovapur.

Swatantra Kumar Singh, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Indirapuram circle, said the autopsy report indicated that she was stabbed seven times.

The woman’s family told police they suspected the role of her uncle, Neeraj Singh, a father of four and an FIR was registered at Kaushambi police station. The suspect, who worked at an apparel firm and resided in Bhovapur, was found to be absconding.

The woman worked with him at his house for five years, and the two got into a relationship. She was allegedly killed because her parents fixed her marriage and she was to be married on February 9, police said.

On Monday, during police questioning, Singh purportedly admitted to the murder and said it was a planned crime, officers said.

About 11 days before the murder, Singh started living alone on rent in Chhajarsi, Noida, after lying to his wife that his firm had sent him to Surat, Gujarat, for some work, they added.

“He sat there and planned the murder. Later he called Soni late night on New Year’s Eve, and told her to meet him in a park. He told her that he had arrived from Surat just to meet her on the New Year’s Eve,” the ACP said.

In the park, he allegedly stabbed her multiple times and fled, officers said.

“During interrogation, he has told police that the woman was pressuring him to leave his family and get married to her. So, he planned to get rid of her and murdered her. We have recovered the knife used during the murder,” the ACP added