Husband hired contract killers to kill wife, two shooters held by police

During the course of their investigation, the police uncovered evidence suggesting the involvement of the victim’s husband, Pushpendra, and one of his friends, Kapil Gurjar, in her murder

The Gautam Budh Nagar police arrested two men in a gunfight on Saturday, in connection with the murder of a 40-year-old woman in Greater Noida’s Dadri, police said.

The suspect in custody. (HT Photo)

The incident took place on Tuesday when Rajkumari (wife of Pushpendra), a 40-year-old resident of Saraswati Vihar, Dadri, who worked as a domestic help, was fatally shot by two assailants on a motorcycle, just 100 metres from her residence. Following a complaint filed by her husband on Tuesday, an FIR was registered at the Dadri Police Station.

However, during the course of their investigation, the police uncovered evidence suggesting the involvement of the victim’s husband, Pushpendra, and one of his friends, Kapil Gurjar, in her murder.

Police said that Pushpendra had allegedly enlisted Kapil’s help in hiring contract killers to murder his wife. “Evidence indicates that Kapil, originally from Hapur and a resident of the same colony as the deceased, had paid two individuals from his native village to carry out the murder of Rajkumari,” said SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

According to a senior police officer involved in the case, Pushpendra had suspected his wife of having extramarital affairs, leading to frequent heated arguments between them. “Upset by this, Pushpendra planned to have his wife killed and promised Kapil ₹1 lakh for the task. While ₹50,000 had already been paid to the hitmen, they had come to collect the remaining payment from Kapil on Saturday,” the officer said, adding that both Kapil and Pushpendra are currently on the run.

Meanwhile, investigators received information that the contract killers were in Greater Noida to receive their pending payment for the contract killing.

“After receiving the payment in Dadri, when the killers were heading back to Hapur, they were pursued by a police team. Near the Kot canal area, the assailants opened fire at the police party. In response, the police team fired back, injuring the suspects in the legs before arresting them,” said the DCP.

The two suspects have been identified as Arvind alias Monu Gurjar (27) and Aniket alias Dujana (21), both residents of Gohra Alamgirpur village in Hapur district.

“ ₹50,000 in cash, which the suspects had collected for the contract killing, along with one homemade pistol, two live cartridges, and a motorcycle used in the murder, were recovered from the suspects’ possession,” Khan said.

During questioning, the suspects informed the police that Kapil had paid them ₹1 lakh to carry out the murder of Rajkumari.

“A police team has been deployed to trace Kapil and Pushpendra,” said Sujeet Upadhyay, station house officer of Dadri police station.

The two suspects were presented before the magistrate and subsequently placed in judicial custody on Saturday, police said.