Delhi man held for killing neighbour over encroachment plaint

Shyam Kumar Kaushik, a resident of Welcome area of Delhi, was shot dead in Badalpur, Greater Noida on May 2.

A man has been arrested for allegedly killing his neighbour because he complained against him for carrying out illegal construction on his plot in Delhi.

Naushad (centre) was arrested from Badalpur. He hails from Welcome area of Delhi, the police said. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

The murder took place on May 2. Unidentified men had shot dead Shyam Kumar Kaushik, a resident of Welcome area of Delhi, on the GT road in Badalpur in Greater Noida.

The police said they have arrested Shanu alias Naushad from Badalpur. Naushad hails from Welcome area of Delhi and was Kaushik’s neighbour.

“There was no witness in the case. Nobody saw the person who shot Kaushik. During investigation, we learnt that Kaushik recently complained against one of his neighbours, who had encroached upon a road in Delhi to construct a room. After Kaushik’s complaint, the illegal construction was demolished. We learnt that this neighbor was Naushad,” said Abhishek Yadav, superintendent of police (rural), Gautam Budh Nagar.

The police said Naushad was missing since the incident and this raised suspicion. A manhunt was then launched to nab him.

“On Sunday evening, a police team got a tip that he was near Badalpur. A raid was conducted and Naushad was arrested. A .32 bore pistol, used in the crime, was also recovered from him,” said Manoj Yadav, in charge, Badalpur police station.

During interrogation, Naushad told the investigators that Kaushik owned a shop in front of his plot in Welcome area. He said he had constructed additional rooms on his plots, but Kaushik complained to the municipal corporation against this and the rooms were demolished, the police said.

“Upset over the demolition of the rooms, Naushad decided to kill Kaushik. He knew that Kaushik used to go to Bambwad village in Greater Noida every 15 days to buy medicines. He bought a pistol from an arms dealer and shot Kaushik while he was on his way. Naushad was arrested and sent to jail,” said the superintendent of police (rural), Gautam Budh Nagar.