A former Delhi Police constable on Thursday was arrested for allegedly murdering a Greater Noida-based businessman over a property dispute. The murder plan was allegedly hatched after the accused watched Ajay Devgn and Tabu-starrer crime-thriller movie Drishyam and other web series.
The 42-year-old accused, identified as Praveen, was taken into custody late Thursday, 13 days after the Ankush Sharma -- the businessman -- was reported to be missing by his family.
Praveen had met the victim through a third person contact. Saad Miya Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Greater Noida, said that Sharma had been wanting to sell his flat in a Greater Noida housing society.
A deal of ₹ 1.20 crore was finalised between the two, following which the accused gave Sharma ₹8 lakh and the transfer memorandum process was initiated, Khan was cited as saying by NDTV.
The tiff between Sharma and Praveen started when the former found out that the price of the SKA society flat was more than the price they finalised on. Unhappy with this development, Praveen decided to plan Sharma's murder.
Sharma was picked up by the accused from his office on August 9 on the reason that he would get money for the flat. The two then reached the SKA society's parking lot and started drinking alcohol there.
After Sharma got drunk, Praveen reportedly hit him on the head with a hammer and strangled him to death.
On the same night, the accused then hid Sharma's body on a disputed property which is not often visited by anyone, the senior officer was cited as saying.
When Sharma didn't return home, his family filed a missing persons complaint at the Beta-2 police station. During investigations, the police examined over 100 CCTV footage and intelligence, which led to Praveen's arrest.
Praveen also revealed to the police the place where he hid the victim's body. DCP Khan said that the hammer used to hit Sharma on the head and a car were recovered from the accused.
The accused has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhit (BNS) Sections 103(1) (charges of murder), 238 (destroying evidence) and 123 (giving poison to another person).
The incident comes around two weeks after a 28-year-old woman was allegedly killed and her body was buried by her ex-husband and lover. Officials said that these two men also took cues from Drishyam to hide the body and evade arrest.
The two men, Lukesh Sahu and Raja Ram Sahu -- were arrested by the police and further investigation was underway, police said.
