Faridabad police detain ACP's son, 3 others in 'murder' of property dealer

Faridabad, Sep 23 (PTI) Faridabad police have detained four suspects, including the son of ACP Rajesh Lohan, in the alleged murder of property dealer Manoj Kumar, officials said on Tuesday.

Kumar, 45, a resident of Lane No. 2, Nangla Enclave Part 2, Sector 12 here, was allegedly crushed by the ACP's Thar car in Sector 12.

Central DCP Usha confirmed that four suspects have been detained but she did not disclose their names, police said on Tuesday.

The police claimed that these four people were in the Thar. Among the youths taken into custody is the son of Sarai ACP Rajesh Lohan.

The vehicle is registered in the ACP's name. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Central ACP has been formed to investigate the case in which the section of murder has also been added, they added.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased continued to protest at BK Hospital until Tuesday afternoon. They said that they will not accept Kumar's body until the accused persons are arrested.

The family alleged that the police were trying to protect the accused. This created a tense atmosphere in the hospital premises.

A large number of police personnel were deployed to prevent any possible incidents. However, after assurances from senior police officers, the family took the body for cremation around 3 pm, said the police.

When contacted, ACP Rajesh Lohan said that the Thar is registered in his name and added that his driver was driving it. He said that he is ready to cooperate with the police investigation.

A Thar driver hit Kumar in the early hours of Monday. His friends rushed him to a nearby private hospital, where he died during treatment, said the police.

According to the complaint filed by Vicky Kumar, brother of the deceased, Manoj had gone to Vrindavan along with his friends Anil Rana, Pravesh, Rahul, Aman, Shivam and Navdeep on Sunday.

Around 1 am on Monday, they reached Pravesh's office in Sector 9, from where Mandeep and Aman took their bikes and went to Dharma Dhaba in Sector 12 to have food.

It is alleged that when they reached the Sector 12 cut, the Thar driver tried to hit them, which prompted the two friends to protest against the Thar driver. At this, the four youths in the Thar started abusing them, Vicky Kumar's complaint said.

The four youths in the Thar tried to hit the bike from behind and later went away after threatening to kill the two men, he added.

"When Aman and Mandeep didn't return with food for a long time, my brother Manoj and his friends drove to Sector 12's Dharma Dhaba in search of them. They explained the entire story.

"Manoj drove to Town Park with his friends to try to convince the Thar riders. The Thar driver was performing stunts near Ozone Park. Manoj got out of his vehicle and tried to stop the Thar, but the driver crushed him and fled," Vicky Kumar said in his complaint.

"An FIR was registered at the Central police station, Faridabad, in which a section of murder was also added after the death of the property dealer. We have detained four suspects and are questioning them and the car has been recovered.

"A postmortem of the body was conducted by a board of doctors. CCTV footage around the incident spot is being scanned and a probe is underway by the SIT," said Usha. PTI COR KSS KSS