Three held for brick kiln owner’s murder; political rivalry was motive, say Ghaziabad police

According to the police, the prime accused, Rahul, had a long-standing rivalry with Fafrana, and the two were planning to contest the block-level elections against each other

The Ghaziabad police on Monday arrested three persons on charges of gunning down 40-year-old brick kiln owner Vijay Fafrana in Modi Nagar on February 18.

The three men had allegedly gunned down brick kiln owner Vijay Fafrana in Modi Nagar on February 18. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

According to the police, the prime accused, Rahul, had a long-standing rivalry with Fafrana, and the two were planning to contest the block-level elections against each other.

Apart from Rahul, the police also arrested Vivek Singh and Ashu Chauhan in connection with the murder. Both men were enlisted by Rahul to carry out the murder.

On the evening of February 18, three armed assailants had gunned down Fafrana in his i10 car near his brick kiln in Mau village. The assailants arrived in a Santro and emptied nearly 20 rounds into Fafrana with a 9mm and .30 calibre weapons.

“During the investigation, Rahul emerged as the prime accused. He and Fafrana had a long-standing rivalry and they wanted to contest the block elections. A couple of months ago, Fafrana had threatened Rahul that he would get Rahul’s advertising agency shut if he stood for the elections,” AK Maurya, superintendent of police (rural), said.

“With nearly a dozen cases against his name, Fafrana is a history sheeter from Modi Nagar. He reached the college with the intention of killing Rahul. However, Rahul got to know about Fafrana and Tony’s presence on the campus and fled the spot,” Maurya said.

Rahul, according to the police, had planned to get rid of Fafrana a month ago and was tracking his movements.

The police said Rahul was present at the scene when Fafrana was gunned down. He allegedly told his men that he wanted to see the dead body. He was fearful that if Fafrana survived the attacked, he would have killed Rahul, the police said.

According to the police, Rahul has seven criminal cases, including cases of murder and attempt to murder, against him. He was an accused in the murder of a home guard platoon commander in Modi Nagar in 2013 and was involved in a murder in Navyug Market in 2013.