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Man bludgeoned to death: Ghaziabad police arrest prime suspect after late night crackdown
Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad police arrested a 40-year-old man, suspected of bludgeoning a 35-year-old man to death with bricks three days ago outside a restaurant on Loni Road, during a shoot-out in Sahibabad early Friday
Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad police arrested a 40-year-old man, suspected of bludgeoning a 35-year-old man to death with bricks three days ago outside a restaurant on Loni Road, during a shoot-out in Sahibabad early Friday.
Police identified the suspect as Chiranjivi alias Kallu Pandit who got into an altercation with the victim Varun Singh alias Arun over a parking issue. On Tuesday, a seven-second video of the incident, captured by passengers in a passing car, went viral on social media. The video shows Varun lying on the road and Pandit repeatedly hitting him in the head with bricks. Several cars are also seen at the scene. Pandit’s accomplices also damaged Varun’s car before leaving him by the roadside around 9.15pm.
“The prime suspect was identified with the help of the video, footage from CCTV cameras in the area, car registration numbers and local intelligence. He went on the run a day after the incident. We traced him around 12.30am on Fridaynear Karan Gate crossing in Sahibabad. He later gave us the names of his accomplices,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).
According to police, when they escorted Pandit towards the overbridge on Hindon river near Banhera village to recover his car, he snatched the service pistol of sub-inspector Subhash Chandra, opened fire at the team and tried to flee.
“Police opened fire in retaliation and a bullet hit Pandit’s leg. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment. We also recovered the Celerio car (with a Baghpat registration number) near the overbridge. This was the car in which Pandit had driven to a restaurant for dinner with his accomplices on October 25 when he had an altercation with Varun,” the SP added.
According to police, Varun had come to the restaurant with his two friends, Deepak Kumar and Sanjay Rawat.
“After dinner, they were about to leave in Varun’s car when Pandit parked his car too close to his. Varun, who was to drive, was unable to open his door and objected to the car being parked so close. This led to an altercation between the two,” a police officer said.
Police registered an FIR against unidentified men under Indian Penal Code sections for murder and causing damage to Varun’s car. Deepak and Sanjay were also named in the FIR, as Varun’s family alleged that they fled the scene, leaving Varun to fend for himself, and simply called the family to inform them of the incident.
“Deepak and Sanjay’s role in the murder is not established yet and they are still being questioned. The accomplices of the prime suspect are being tracked,” the SP added.
Police said Pandit, who works as a salesman with a renowned food joint in Noida, went home to Rajpur after the incident. When he found out the next day that Varun had died, he fled home and travelled to Ghaziabad, Noida, Baghpat and other nearby districts before he was traced by the Ghaziabad police.
There is a case of rioting and attempt to murder and another case under the Arms Act registered against Pandit at Sahibabad police station in 2016, police said.
Varun was a wrestler before he got married in 2013 and is survived by his wife and two children aged six and four. His father Kanwar Pal Singh retired as Delhi Police sub-inspector in 2021.
Aniruddh Singh, Varun’s cousin who rushed to the scene of crime on the night of the incident and took Varun to a hospital, said, “Pandit’s arrest should be followed by the immediate arrest of his other accomplices. About 150 residents and our family members went to Tila Morh police station on Friday morning and demanded police speed up the investigation. There are several other men who are still at large.”
