A former Delhi Police constable was arrested on Thursday night for murdering a Greater Noida-based businessman over a property row. The accused, 42-year-old Praveen was taken into custody 13 days after the victim, Ankush Sharma was reported missing by his family.
Praveen had orchestrated the plan of killing Ankush to take possession of his flat after watching Tabbu and Ajay Devgn starter crime thriller ‘Drishyam’, an NDTV report said. Praveen was suspended in March due to absenteeism.
According to Saad Miya Khan, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Greater Noida, Ankush, who wanted to sell his flat in a Greater Noida society, met Praveen through a broker Sanchit on February 20.
“Ankush was selling his flat in SKA Society, Eta-2, and agreed to sell it to Praveen for Rs 1.18 crore, with Rs 88 lakh upfront and Rs 30 lakh in cash. By March, Praveen had paid around Rs 7 lakh, and the transfer memorandum (TM) process began on April 27. Praveen moved into the flat on May 10 after receiving the TM letter,” DCP Khan was quoted by TOI as saying.
The accused, Praveen alleged that Praveen left for Canada delaying the registry process. Upon his return, he asked for an additional Rs 20 lakh from Praveen which he refused.
“On Aug 5, Praveen and Sanchit met Ankush at his office in Alpha-2 market, where Praveen agreed to pay Rs 11 lakh. However, Praveen had already planned to kill Ankush and take possession of the flat,” DCP Khan added.
During interrogation, Praveen confessed that on Aug 9, he lured Ankush to his office, picked him up in a Creta car, and drugged him with sedative-laced lassi.
“Praveen then took Ankush to the underground parking of his SKA Society residence and killed him with a hammer. To avoid detection, he sent messages from Ankush’s phone to his lawyer and friend, claiming to be preparing documents, before dumping the body near the Sharda roundabout. He later washed the blood-covered car, claiming his son had a head injury,” DCP Khan further noted.
CCTV footage led the police to Praveen who disclosed the body’s location, which has been sent for post-mortem.
A case has been registered under sections 103(1) (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 123 (causing hurt using poison, etc.) of the BNS Act.
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