Gurugram: Two including cousin held for murder of canteen operator over longstanding dispute

Gurugram, Jan 13 (PTI) The Gurugram Police has arrested two persons, including the main accused, in connection with the murder of a canteen operator here, an official said on Tuesday.

The arrestees were identified as Guru Dutt Sharma alias Baleshwar Sharma (56) -- the main accused -- a resident of Dahkora village in Rohtak district, and Anil (48), resident of Kandora village in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district.

Guru Dutt, a cousin of the deceased, allegedly hatched the murder plot over a 14-year-old feud, and paid Rs 10 lakh to the co-accused Anil to carry out the murder, police said.

The accused have allegedly revealed that information on how to commit a murder, and then evade the police, was gathered by watching videos on YouTube, they added.

Guru Dutt was arrested on January 10 from Dehradun while Anil was arrested on Monday from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Police have taken the main accused on a four-day police remand after he was produced in a city court and are questioning him, they added.

"During interrogation, accused Guru Dutt revealed that he runs a cafe in Dehradun and the deceased Sanjay Sharma was the son of his maternal uncle. They had a joint crusher and gravel business until 2011-12, but it closed due to a disagreement. Due to this rivalry, they had repeatedly clashed," a Gurugram Police spokesperson said.

Guru Dutt, along with Anil and other associates, plotted to kill Sanjay and conducted a recce. After this, on January 6, they hit Sanjay's car near Rama Garden in sector 37 D area and when Sanjay got down from the car, Guru Dutt shot him dead, the spokesperson said.

A senior investigating officer said the main accused had known co-accused Anil for around 10 years.

Anil works as a private bus driver in Muzaffarnagar and had recieved Rs 10 lakh for the murder and recce. He is also being questioned, the officer said.

Canteen operator Sanjay Sharma was found dead on a road in sector 37 D area on the morning of January 6. He had a bullet injury on his head and was covered in blood and his car was found parked nearby.

The family had suspected the murder was committed over a dispute. An FIR in this connection was registered at Sector 10 police station, police said. PTI COR ARB ARB