Month after burial, body exhumed in Gr Noida over murder suspicion

The deceased was identified as Shahjad, a resident of a village in Dankaur, Greater Noida.

Greater Noida: Police on Friday exhumed the body of a 23-year-old man for post-mortem examination – a month after his final rites were performed – following allegations that he was murdered over an old rivalry, police said.

Police said the family believes the accused killed him and staged the murder as an accident

On September 3, police received information on the emergency helpline number 112 that a man had died in a road accident on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway under the jurisdiction of Dankaur police station, officials said, adding that a team was rushed to the scene and identified the deceased as Shahjad, resident of a village in Dankaur, Greater Noida.

“During the investigation, it was revealed that Shahjad had left home to see the swollen Yamuna river. While returning, a truck coming from the direction of Palwal hit him and fled the spot,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

Following the incident, when police took his body for a postmortem, his family members refused and took the body home after submitting in writing that they did not suspect anything unusual, said Munendra Kumar, Station House Officer, Dankaur.

“As they refused to file any complaint, no FIR was registered and the case was closed. But after a month, they approached the police and alleged that Shahjad had a dispute with someone in the neighbourhood and they suspect that he was killed,” said Arvind Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Greater Noida.

Police said the family believes the accused killed him and staged the murder as an accident. “On the basis of their allegations, we took permission from the District Magistrate’s office to exhume his body. After permission, on Friday, his body was exhumed in the presence of his family members and was sent for post-mortem,” said ACP Kumar, adding that a case will be registered if anything suspicious is found in the autopsy report.