Murder of Nithari resident: Police arrest mastermind, two others

Noida: Three suspects, including the mastermind, were arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in the murder of a Nithari village resident, whose body was

Noida: Three suspects, including the mastermind, were arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in the murder of a Nithari village resident, whose body was found near the elevated road in Sector 25 on October 28.

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According to the police, 26-year-old Kamal Sharma was murdered after he objected to mastermind Nizamul Khan’s relationship with his (Kamal’s) younger sister.

Khan, 24, who is a native of Amroha, is a youtuber, the police said, adding that he engaged two accomplices -- Amit Gupta, 23, a resident of Sector 20, and Sumit Sharma, 24, a resident of Usmanpur in Delhi -- for the murder.

The police have recovered a countrymade gun used in the crime, a live cartridge, one used cartridge and a mobile phone from their possession.

Khan, who is also a bike enthusiast, has over nine lakh followers on YouTube and he roughly earns about Rs 50,000 a month through his videos, said the police.

Love Kumar, additional commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that on October 28, Kamal was found wounded at the elevated road loop near Iskcon temple. Kamal was taken to the district hospital where he was declared brought dead, he said.

The post mortem report revealed the victim had a gunshot wound in his back. Kamal’s brother Naresh Sharma filed a complaint against unknown persons at Sector 24 police station.

Rajesh S, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Noida, said that the police launched an investigation and scanned CCTV footage from different spots. “The three suspects were seen conducting recee of Kamal’s workplace on October 27 in Noida Sector 63. On October 28, at 6pm, the three suspects again reached Kamal’s office on a motorcycle. Sumit was dropped at the spot while two others – Khan and Amit – started following Kamal on a motorcycle as the victim left the office on his bike,” DCP said.

The police said Amit was riding the motorcycle while Khan was riding pillion. “When the victim was taking elevated road loop near Iskcon temple, the suspects approached the victim. Khan fired at Kamal from point-blank range and killed him,” said DCP. The suspects had fled the spot after the crime.

During interrogation, Khan revealed that he loved Kamal’s sister. “Kamal had warned Khan to stay away from his sister. Khan had developed a grudge with Kamal over the issue. He made a plot with his two accomplices and killed him,” said Kumar, the additional CP.

The police said that Khan would make videos of motorcycle stunts and putting them on YouTube. Khan had lured Amit and Sumit in the plot and promised them to help make videos and earn money. The suspects were produced in court and sent to judicial custody, the police said.

On October 29, a day after the murder, over 100 people from Nithari village had gathered near the Sector 25 intersection under the elevated road and protested demanding justice for the victim.