Two arrested, 2 minors detained for murder of 26-year-old trader in Ghaziabad’s Khoda

Police said this was the gang’s second attempt to burgle the victim and that no police complaint was lodged the first time, when they made away with Rs 2.5 lakh.

The Ghaziabad police on Wednesday arrested two men and apprehended two minors, aged 16 and 17, for allegedly murdering a 26-year-old trader during a robbery bid at his house in Khoda. Police said this was the gang’s second attempt to burgle the victim and that no police complaint was lodged the first time, when they made away with Rs 2.5 lakh.

Police said the accused stabbed the victim repeatedly with a knife. (Representative Image) (Shutterstock)

Stating that the two arrested accused have been identified as Rahul (21) and Bobby (18), police said the fifth accused in the case, identified as Rahul Yadav, is presently on the run and will soon be nabbed. Bobby was the victim’s neighbour, police maintained.

Police said a case has been registered at Khoda police station against the accused on charges of criminal conspiracy and murder.

Elaborating on the sequence of events, police said that on the night of August 10, the victim, Deepak Goyal, was targeted by the five men. His body was recovered the next morning, when his relatives arrived at his house. The victim was unmarried and his brother and his family had gone for the kanwar yatra and have been staying at their ancestral house in Hapur since.

The SSP added, “The gang entered the victim’s room from the upper floor when he was sleeping. When Goyal woke up, hearing the noise, the men stabbed him repeatedly with a knife. It appears that he sustained four-five stab wounds. The gang ransacked his house but could not find any money or valuable.”

Police maintained that the men had bought two knives for the theft and that they used a ladder to enter the house. One of the five men was keeping a watch on the lane while the rest entered his house.