Four arrested for murdering 18-year-old in Noida

The accused, all in the age group of 20-24 years, have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The Ghaziabad police have arrested four young men for the murder of 18-year-old Farman Qureshi alias Bittu in Ghaziabad. They were arrested from the old Ghaziabad railway junction when they were trying to flee on Monday night.

The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday arrested four persons for planning and executing the murder of an 18-year-old. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police arrested Shoaib, Talib, Nadeem and Rashid for murdering Bittu. The teenager’s dead body was found in a pool of blood from the terrace of a market at Ramte Ram Road near Ghanta Ghar Ramlila Ground on the morning of October 2.

The accused, all in the age group of 20-24 years, have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The four conspired and lured Bittu to the Ramlila fair on the night of October 1 and murdered him to avenge an old rivalry between the families. In April, the families of the prime accused and the victim had clashed following an altercation over a smartphone.

“Shoaib is the mastermind and wanted to settle a rivalry between the families. In April this year, Shoaib’s family had beat up Farman and his brother. After this, the Qureshis lodged a case, and Shoaib and his family were chargesheeted. The deceased was an eyewitness,” said Maneesha Singh, circle officer (city I).

At the fair, Rashid and Nadeem spent nearly Rs1000 on food and swings to keep Farman from getting suspicious. Around 9.30pm, they walked to the terrace of nearby Ramanuj Dayal Market where Shoaib was waiting.

“Shoaib and Talib, another accused, stabbed Farman at least 10-12 times with meat cleavers. As Farman fought his attackers, Shoaib, too, suffered some cuts. Farman died on the spot because of excessive blood loss,” Singh said.

We have completed the forensic examination of blood samples found at the crime scene, and the samples match Shoaib’s blood type, Singh said.

Since the murder was a fallout of personal enmity between Bittu and Shoaib’s families, police suspect the involvement of Shoaib’s brother Amzad and father Yaseen in the murder conspiracy. They are on the run.

Police teams have been fanned out to search for Shoaib’s family members.