Greater Noida: Man wanted in several murder cases arrested

The accused -- Naveen (goes by first name) -- a resident of Haryana’s Sonipat, carried a ₹25,000 reward on his head, and has over a dozen cases registered against him, including the murder of a youth in Delhi, a triple murder in Muzaffarnagar, among others

A joint team of Meerut special task force (STF) and Greater Noida police arrested an alleged criminal -- booked in several murder cases since 2015 -- on Friday, officials said.

Police will also impose the Gangster Act against the wanted criminal -- Naveen (goes by first name), said officials on Friday. (Getty Images)

The suspect -- Naveen (goes by first name) -- a resident of Haryana’s Sonipat, carried a ₹25,000 reward on his head, and has over a dozen cases registered against him, including the murder of a youth in Delhi, a triple murder in Muzaffarnagar, among others, police said. He was arrested near an educational institute in LG circles, Greater Noida.

“A joint operation of the STF of Meerut and Knowledge Park police led to Naveen’s arrest. He is a dreaded criminal who operated with a gang. A 32-bore pistol, some shells, live bullets, and a stolen motorcycle was recovered from his possession,” according to a police statement on Friday.

According to the police, Naveen and his friends allegedly killed a man in Sonipat in 2015 following a feud. He was involved in a triple murder in Muzaffarnagar in 2019. In 2020, he allegedly killed a person in Sonipat again, beaten another man to death in another village, kidnapped three officials from Panipat, and was also involved in three other murder cases.

In his latest crime, Naveen allegedly killed a youth -- Rohit, a resident of Sonipat -- in Delhi earlier this year. He and his associates had called Rohit at a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat in Sector 34 in August 2021, intoxicated him, and drowned him in a bathtub. They dumped Rohit’s body at a sewage near Apeejay Institute in the Knowledge Park area in Greater Noida.

A murder case was registered against Naveen at the Knowledge Park police station in August this year.

“Police later recognised/found his body, and launched an investigation. We scanned social media platforms to follow a trail, which led to the culprit. Police are raiding different suspected places to arrest the remaining suspects... It is a very dreaded gang, and Naveen has over a dozen cases of murder and extortion registered against him. We will also impose the Gangster Act against him,” said Vishal Pandey, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.