Man shot dead on NH-24 near Phool Mandi in Delhi, 2 arrested

New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) Delhi Police has arrested two people, allegedly involved in killing a 30-year-old man near the Phool Mandi area on National Highway 24 in east Delhi, while they were trying to flee, an official said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Nazim (40), previously allegedly involved in six criminal cases, and Talib alias Tariq (24), both residents of Ghazipur Dairy Farm, he said, adding that the reason behind the murder was an ongoing monetary dispute between the victim and the accused.

"Eyewitness Akash Chaudhary, who had accompanied Rohit, stated they were returning from a dumping yard on a scooter after refueling with diesel when a car carrying three-to-four people intercepted them and opened fire," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Abhishek Dhania said.

Based on Akash’s statement, a case under sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the BNS was registered, and an investigation was launched with four teams being formed to nab the accused, he added.

"Utilising CCTV footage, ANPR cameras, call detail records (CDRs), and technical surveillance, investigators tracked down the accused. Within hours, the police successfully arrested Nazim and Talib," said the DCP.

The officer also said that preliminary investigation suggests that the murder was motivated by an ongoing monetary dispute between the deceased and the accused. Efforts to arrest the remaining accused are on, he said.

Meanwhile, traffic snarls were witnessed on Monday morning on the Akshardham-Ghaziabad road when several people blocked the roads and protested over Rohit’s killing. Huge jams were witnessed on the road between 9:30 am and 10:30 am with Delhi Police issuing an advisory regarding it.

"Movement of traffic is affected in both the carriageways of NH-24 due to a protest. Commuters heading towards Indirapuram, Ghaziabad are advised to avoid NH-24 and take Noida Link road as an alternate route," Delhi Traffic Police said in a statement.

"The situation was brought under control and the protesting crowd was dispersed. Around 100 police personnel were on the spot to control the protest and ensure smooth flow of traffic. While the road was blocked between 9:30 am and 10:30 am, the traffic normalised from there on," DCP said.

He added that the protest happened due to people spreading rumours that police did not arrest anyone in the matter leading to the unnecessary jams.

Meanwhile, many users took to social media to express their anguish over being stuck in jams on a working day.

"Hell has broken on Dharamshila Hospital to Trilok Puri road due to massive traffic jams. Where is Delhi Traffic Police? Students heading for board exams are in panic and office-goers like us are getting late on the first working day of the week," an office-goer said.

Another complained about being stuck in traffic for about one-and-a-half hours from Anand Vihar towards Ghazipur.

"Delhi traffic police is in sleeping mode. There is heavy traffic in Anand Vihar-Ghazipur road but there is no traffic policeman to ask for help," an X user wrote.

"Horrific traffic jam at Ghazipur-IP Extension-Meerut Road! I have been stuck for over 35 minutes with no sign of traffic management. There is absolute chaos here, and still there is no response from authorities. Is this how the capital is managed?" a commuter asked.

Another X user said that at least someone from Delhi Police should have informed the commuters about the massive traffic jam at Ghazipur flyover towards Ghaziabad. "We pay taxes and yet have to manage with this daily headache of going through traffic," said the user. PTI SSJ BM SSJ MNK MNK