Hours later, two of the named accused were arrested while a manhunt was launched for two others, they added. A 22-year-old man was murdered allegedly over an old dispute in Meerut’s Sarurpur area on Friday night, with four assailants attacking him with knives before shooting him in the chest, police said on Saturday.
The victim, identified as Salim alias Mannu, was the elder son of village resident Shahzad. He got married around one-and-a-half years ago, and the couple had a daughter. A large crowd of villagers soon gathered at the spot, raising slogans against the police. As tension escalated, Meerut (rural) SP Abhijeet Kumar took charge of the situation and ordered the formation of four police teams, including the SWAT team, to track down the attackers. The body was sent for the post-mortem examination and vehicles were checked even as police began gathering information from local sources. Investigators suspect the accused had been holding a grudge over the incident and allegedly attacked Salim when they got an opportunity.
The incident occurred in Dahar village, around 30 km from the Meerut district headquarters.
Acting on an input from an informer, police arrested two named suspects, Md Shahzad and Gulzar, within around two hours, officials said. An argument between them had escalated into a physical fight, following which a case was registered at Sarurpur police station, according to police.
Preliminary police investigation indicated that the murder may have stemmed from an old dispute between Salim and Shahzad and Gulzar during Eid last year, they added.
“A case has been registered against and raids are being conducted at possible hideouts to arrest the two other suspects, while further investigation is underway,” the SP (rural) said.
