Ghaziabad man, 22, murders friend for speaking to his sister; arrested

A 22-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly murdering his friend in Ghaziabad on November 7 after becoming upset over the victim's friendship with his younger sister, police said. The accused was reportedly unhappy that the victim was in touch with his sister and frequently spoke to her over the phone.

On the night of November 7, the accused, along with another friend, allegedly called the victim, identified as 21-year-old Vicky Singh, to a secluded spot near their locality on the pretext of drinking alcohol, police said.

The duo allegedly laced Singh's drink with an intoxicating substance before taking him near a tubewell. The prime accused then broke an alcohol bottle and repeatedly struck Singh with it until he died, while the other suspect held the victim during the assault, Siddharth Gautam, ACP of the Modinagar circle, told HT.

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The two suspects allegedly dumped Singh's body in a nearby agricultural field and disposed of the broken bottle, which they had used as a weapon, police said.

"Last month, the prime suspect came to know that the deceased was speaking to his sister over the phone and had also met her several times. This led to an altercation between the two. After the victim went missing on the night of November 7, his body was spotted by locals the next day, following which the police were informed. The victim's family also lodged a police complaint, which pointed to the suspected prime accused's involvement," the ACP said.

Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the prime accused. Sections 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS were subsequently added to the case, officials said.

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Police picked up the prime accused, who allegedly confessed to the murder during questioning. The ACP said investigators also recovered the broken glass bottle from the spot where the suspects had disposed of it and arrested the accused.

The second suspect, who allegedly helped the prime accused in the murder, is absconding, and police teams are trying to trace him, the ACP said. All three men are from Vishwakarma Colony and are neighbours.