Relatives booked after lawyer is shot dead at his chamber in Ghaziabad tehsil

Chaudhary, a resident of Govindpuram, was practising lawyer at Ghaziabad tehsil. He was having lunch around 2pm in his chamber when two masked men arrived there and one of them fired a shot to his head from close range, said police.

Hours after 42-year-old lawyer Manoj Chauhdary was shot dead by two unidentified assailants in his chamber at Ghaziabad tehsil, the police on Wednesday evening said that they have registered an FIR against five persons and suspect that a family dispute was the motive for the killing.

Crowd gathered outside the Tehsil compound in Ghaziabad where Manoj Chaudhary was shot dead by two unknown assailants on Wednesday afternoon. (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

Chaudhary, a resident of Govindpuram, was practising lawyer at Ghaziabad tehsil. He was having lunch around 2pm in his chamber when two masked men arrived there and one of them fired a shot to his head from close range, said police.

Police said a document writer was an eyewitness to the killing, but the witness denied that he could identify either of the two suspects.

The shooting incident took place around 2pm and the Sihani Gate police was informed around 2.15pm.

“We roped in several teams to trace the suspects and footage from the CCTV cameras in the tehsil compound were also scanned for leads. The wife of the victim, Kavita Chaudhary, gave us a complaint naming five of her relatives as suspects. According to her, a family dispute was the motive for the killing,” said Nipun Agarwal, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), City.

“My sister-in-law Sarita Chaudhary has been staying with us at Govindpuram for past several months owing to a dispute and the bad behaviour of her husband, Amit Dagar. On January 15, Amit opened fire at his mother, Sarita and their two children at his residence in Chiranjeev Vihar. The police then sent him to jail but he soon got bail and started harassing his wife again,” Kavita Chaudhary said in her complaint.

She said unable to bear the repeated assault, Sarita came to their house in June.

“On the morning of August 30, Amit threatened me over phone and also threatened my husband Manoj over his mobile. He threatened that he will spoil the Rakshabandhan festival. Later, Nitin along with his brother Amit Dagar shot my husband dead,” Kavita further said.

Based on her complaint, the Sihani Gate police registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly with common object), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120b (criminal conspiracy).

Dagar, one of the five suspects, is Amit and Nitin’s father while the other named suspects are their relatives, said police.

“Amit Dagar had gone to jail in January. Nitin also used to practise at Ghaziabad tehsil while Amit used to practise in Noida. We have formed several teams and the suspects will soon be arrested,” the DCP said.

The tehsil bar association office-bearers said they were in a general body meeting at the tehsil bar office when they got to know about the killing.

“During the meeting, we heard about the killing and soon informed the police. Manoj died on the spot as the shot was fired from very close range. He was having lunch when the suspects shot him. Police were present at the tehsil at the time owing to a strike call we had given. Despite their presence, the assailants entered the complex and fled after killing the lawyer,” said Ashok Verma, president of the tehsil bar association.