Senior executive driving back home in Noida found killed on road

NOIDA: A regional manager with a global healthcare firm was found murdered on an unlit stretch near Parthala Chowk in Noida in the wee hours of Tuesday, just 5km from his home in Gaur City. His brand new Kia Seltos, which he was driving home from his office in Gurugram, is missing.
In the morning, there was an outpouring of public anger against police as neighbours alleged they had spent the entire night pleading with cops, who argued over jurisdiction, to start a search operation.
Gaurav Chandel (39) had last spoken to his wife around 10.30pm on Monday, when he had told her he was near Parthala Chowk.
He went incommunicado after that, but his phone continued to receive messages till 3.45am.
He was later found murdered around 4.30am.
Noida murder: Jurisdiction fight delayed search, say kin
Gaurav’s family alleged he could have been found or rescued had two police stations not fought over jurisdiction. According to his wife Preeti, Gaurav, originally from Kanpur, had left the office of 3M India in Gurgaon Sector 18, where he worked, around 7pm. He was on his way home to Gaur City in Noida Extension when Preeti called him to ask where he had reached. Gaurav told her he was near Parthala Chowk and getting a few “papers checked”.
Preeti said his voice wasn’t very clear, but she could hear some commotion in the background. “I only heard him say ‘Parthala’ and that he was getting his papers checked. He told me he would call me back in two minutes, but when he did not call, I dialled him back. Despite multiple missed calls, he did not get back to me. It was then that I sensed something was wrong,” she said.
Preeti called up her brother around 10.45pm and told him to go to Parthala Chowk to check for Gaurav. She also informed a few neighbours in Gaur City. A group of neighbours informed Gadhi Chaukhandi police chowki, which is in the Phase 3 police station area. The cops there found the location of Gaurav’s mobile phone at Roja Jalalpur village in Noida Extension.
Tirath Sharma, a resident of Gaur City, said the phone’s location kept changing every minute. “The location was initially near Roja Jalalpur, then Old Haibatpur and finally near a gas station opposite Gaur City. Since the last location was in the jurisdiction of Bisrakh police station, cops at the Phase 3 police station told us to go there,” Sharma said.
Gaurav’s neighbours said they wasted nearly two hours trying to convince the Bisrakh cops to track him down.
As the clock ticked, Gaurav’s neighbours started a frantic search themselves. His body was found around 4.30am on a road between Parthala and Gaur City. His car, wallet and laptop were missing.