On the run for 3 days, man arrested for killing woman at Ghaziabad hotel

The suspect, who is married, met Zoya two years ago and began a relationship with her. But she was getting married and this angered him

Three days after a 23-year-old woman’s body was found in a hotel in Ghaziabad, a man known to her was arrested for the murder after a shootout with the police late Wednesday night, police officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.

Mohammad Azharuddin, 26, was arrested after a shootout with the police in which he was injured in the leg. (HT)

According to the police, Zoya Parveen, also known as Shahzadi, a resident of Hapur, was found dead by a team of police officers in a hotel near National Highway 9 on October 22. The police’s investigation revealed that she had been staying in the hotel since October 20 with a man, Mohammad Azharuddin, 26, said investigators. Azharuddin is married, investigators added.

“The suspect and Zoya had met two years ago and were in a relationship. She was going to get married on November 14, which angered Azharuddin. He arrived with Zoya in Ghaziabad on October 20 to help secure her brother’s release on bail from prison. Zoya’s brother, Mohammad Danish, was lodged in Dasna jail in connection with a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. After securing Danish’s release, Zoya and Azharuddin checked into a hotel the same day. Zoya told her family that she would return home later as she was shopping for her wedding. On the afternoon of October 21, while she was sleeping, Azharuddin smothered her with a pillow and left the hotel after telling the staff that he was going out to get food,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

The suspect phoned his friend, Mohammad Jalal, who arrived on a bike to pick him up from a location near the hotel. Both went to Azharuddin’s house, where Azharuddin told his wife about the murder and then he fled the scene with Jalal, said investigators.

On October 22, Azharuddin phoned Danish and told him that Zoya was lying dead in the hotel room, after which the woman’s family informed the police and registered a first information report for murder at Wave City police station, naming Azharuddin as the suspect.

Late Wednesday night, during a checking operation, a police team spotted two men on a bike on Naifal Road in Masuri and asked them to stop.

“However, the men did not stop and opened fire at the police team. The police also fired in retaliation, and one of the suspects sustained a bullet injury to his leg. The injured suspect, identified as Azharuddin, was apprehended, while the other bike rider, Jalal, managed to flee. Azharuddin was taken to a hospital for treatment and confessed to murdering Zoya,” said Saloni Agarwal, assistant commissioner of police (Wave City).

According to the police, the deceased woman’s autopsy did not reveal the cause of death as smothering, and the viscera was preserved for further analysis.