Murder of BJP MLA’s uncle: Ghaziabad police arrest two shooters, arms supplier

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police on Friday arrested two shooters and an arms-supplier who were allegedly hired to kill the 60-year-old uncle of Bharatiya Janata Party

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police on Friday arrested two shooters and an arms-supplier who were allegedly hired to kill the 60-year-old uncle of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ajitpal Tyagi.

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The police on November 18 had arrested one Jitendra Tyagi on charges of criminal conspiracy in the case, and said that the MLA’s absconding elder brother was allegedly also part of the conspiracy.

The police identified the two shooters as Vipin Sharma, resident of Modinagar living in Ashok Nagar in Delhi, and his alleged accomplice Arpan Chaudhary, who is from Bulandshahr. The “arms supplier” was identified as Manoj Kumar, a resident of Saddik Nagar in Ghaziabad.

On the morning of October 9, the MLA’s maternal 60-year-old uncle Naresh Tyagi was gunned down by two men on a two-wheeler. The MLA and the victim’s son, Abhishek Tyagi, on November 18 had said that they were not convinced with the disclosure made by the police.

The two “shooters” were arrested from the roundabout area near Raj Nagar Extension while Manoj was picked up from his residence.

“During his arrest, Jitendra told us about Vipin and said that he hired him for ₹2 lakh while an advance of ₹50,000 was given for the killing. Jitendra had informed them who to shoot but did not reveal the victim’s identity to the shooters. He also supplied the weapons to the shooters through Manoj. We scanned a number of CCTVs and came across these two men who were on a two-wheeler,” Kalanidhi Naithani, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said during a press-conference on Friday.

The police said that Jitendra had allegedly told them that he had some personal and other rivalry with the victim and allegedly planned the murder along with the MLA’s elder brother Girish Tyagi. They added that a notice under sections of the CrPC has been served to Girish’s family so that he can come and record his statements.

“The statements given by Jitendra are being verified and investigation is still on in the case. Teams have been asked to verify statements made by Jitendra,” the SSP added.

Following Jitendra’s arrest, officers had said that he and Girish had allegedly flown to Lucknow two days before the incident, on October 7. Officers added said that they have also recovered weapons used during the crime and the two-wheeler.

The MLA did not take calls for a comment on Friday.