Scorpio, Harley, Scorpio: One-upmanship over status in same family ends in double murder

GHAZIABAD: Three persons were arrested on Friday after a gunfight between the members of a family left two cousins dead in the Sihani Gate area.

A bullet was pumped into the abdomen of Naveen Chaudhary (30) on Monday night by the accused, while his cousin Vikash (29) was shot twice, once in the abdomen and then near the heart.

Police have arrested the brother-in-law of Naveen’s elder brother Anuj Chaudhary (32), his father Omveer Singh and friend Kuldeep (31) in connection with the murders.

ACP Nandgram Ravi Kumar said the rivalry between the relatives stemmed from status and ego.

“We have come to know that Naveen and Kapil had a car dealership business in Vasundhara and were doing well. Kapil, a property dealer, was apparently jealous of their success. A few days ago, Naveen had purchased a Scorpio. Soon after, Anuj purchased a Harley Davidson bike. Last week, when Vikash purchased another Scorpio, Anuj apparently got irritated and had a heated exchange with him,” he said.

Naveen’s cousin Rahul told TOI that around 9.30 pm on July 8, Anuj called up the former and the two had a heated argument. He claimed that Anuj asked Naveen to reach near his father’s grocery shop in Sihani Gate.“As Naveen, his elder brother Kapil, Vikas and a few others reached Sihani Gate, Anuj, his friend Kuldeep and a few other associates came on bikes and started hitting them. The fistfight continued for more than 15 minutes,” Rahul claimed.

A 1.03-minute CCTV footage, accessed by TOI, shows a few people reach the spot on two bikes and attack a second group of people already present there.

Rahul claimed that at one point during the fight, Naveen, Kapil, Vikas and Vikas’s younger brother Suraj managed to corner Anuj. “That was when Kuldeep pulled out a gun and shot at Vikas, hitting him twice — in the abdomen and chest. As Vikas collapsed, Kapil picked him up and rushed to the nearby Yashoda Hospital while the others fled. But Kuldeep caught Naveen just 100 meters from the fight scene, put the gun on his abdomen and shot him from point blank,” Rahul claimed.

According to a complaint filed by Kapil, Naveen lay on the spot bleeding for nearly 30 minutes before his friend Prince, who was just passing by on a scooter, spotted him and took him to Yashoda Hospital. The two men succumbed to their injuries around 4 am on Tuesday. Kapil claimed Kuldeep had fired a few more rounds.

Additional Commissioner of Police Dinesh P Kumar said they have recovered the pistol used in the crime along with some live cartridges from the spot. “The pistol belongs to Kuldeep. He had bought it from Raju Pandit, who is absconding. We have also impounded a Harley Davidson bike from the accused’s possession,” he said. An FIR has been registered against the three accused under the BNS section of 109(1) (attempt to murder) and 103(1) (punishment for murder).


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