Police arrest shooter for businessman Abhishek Gupta's murder in Aligarh

Aligarh(UP), Oct 1(PTI) The police in Aligarh on Wednesday arrested an alleged shooter for the murder of businessman Abhishek Gupta, who was shot at the crowded Khereshwar temple crossing here on September 26.

The arrested shooter, identified as Mohammad Fazal, claimed the crime was a contract killing ordered by the key conspirators, police said.

Fazal confessed that he and his associate Asif were given "supari" (contract) for the murder by Pooja Shakun Pandey and her husband Ashok Pandey, both named as conspirators by the victim's father on the night of the killing.

Abhishek Gupta was the owner of a showroom in Khair. The sensational crime took place near the Kherreshwar temple crossing when Gupta, along with his father and cousin, was boarding a bus to Sikandra Rao from Khair.

Addressing the media after the arrest, SSP Neeraj Kumar said, "The breakthrough came after police examined a large number of CCTV camera footage from Khair and along the route between Khair and Sikandra Rao in Hathras district. Police also interrogated several people who knew the details of the conflict between the Gupta family and the Pandey family." Ashok Pandey, the husband of Pooja Shakun Pandey, was picked up for questioning the day after the murder before being formally arrested on September 28.

In his complaint to the police, the victim's father alleged that the Pandey couple had a monetary dispute with his family and had been blackmailing Abhishek for several days.

Pooja Shakun Pandey, the national general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha who had been at the centre of several controversies in the past few years, is absconding.

Her husband Ashok Pandey is the national spokesman of the Hindu Mahasabha.

"According to Fazal's confession, he had known the Pandey family for several years, having worked for them on a construction project previously. He claimed the Pandeys approached him recently to accept the contract for eliminating the victim," the officer said.

Police are conducting a search to nab Pooja Pandey and the second shooter, Asif, the SSP said. PTI COR CDN ARI