Doctor strangled by 'friend' over Rs 40 lakh loan in Haryana's Nuh; search for body in Ganga on

Gurugram, Sep 6 (PTI) A 60-year-old doctor was allegedly killed in Nuh's Punhana city by an ex-friend over a loan that ran into lakhs, police on Saturday said.

Dr Vinod Goyal had gone missing on August 28. His compounder, Mahendra, received a message on the same day, which eased his family members' anxiety a little.

There was no communication from the doctor after that.

Worried for his safety, on September 3, the doctor's brother, Devendra Goyal, filed a missing person complaint.

An analysis of Vinod's phone calls led police to 42-year-old Deepak Rajasthani, a former councillor and a friend of Vinod Goyal.

According to police, Deepak has a shop, Rajasthani Bartan Bhandar, in front of Vinod's clinic, Goyal Nursing Home. Both were known as friends and were often seen together.

The rift between them was caused by a loan, alleged to be either Rs 40 lakh or Rs 23 lakh, depending on the version, that Vinod had extended to Deepak.

Police arrested Deepak on September 5 and extracted a confession.

According to Devendra Goyal, Deepak owed Dr Vinod Goyal around Rs 40-45 lakh. Deepak said he owed Rs 23 lakh. All the same, he refused to pay the sum, police said.

"Deepak Rajasthani confessed to strangling the doctor to death with a rope in his car on August 28. After this, to make the case look like a suicide, he and an accomplice of his took his body to Haridwar and threw it in the Ganga River," Punhana City Police Station SHO Rajesh Kumar said.

Deepak also sent a message to the compounder from the doctor's mobile to mislead investigators.

Police are searching for the doctor's body.

MLA Mohammad Ilyas and his predecessor, Naseem Ahmed, picketed the police station on Saturday, saying they will not budge till Vinod's body is found.

"We are investigating the case from all angles. The place where the accused threw the doctor's body is also being searched," the SHO said. PTI COR VN VN VN