Ghaziabad: An eatery owner from Gurgaon allegedly got his childhood friend shot dead by hired assailants before trying to pass off the killing as a road-rage attack by two bikers. The motive, police said, was a festering business rivalry over two adjoining eateries at Sheetla Mata Mandir in Gurgaon.The murder allegedly took place around Wednesday midnight, when the two friends were out in a car towards Ghaziabad. The victim, Amit Saini (35), was found with a bullet wound to the back of his head inside his Grand Vitara on Hindon Kanawani Road in Indirapuram. His friend, Vijay Sharma, who was with him in the car, initially claimed two motorcycle-borne men killed Saini after an argument. The gunmen, however, were allegedly hired by Sharma himself to execute the murder.According to ACP (Indirapuram) Suryabali Maurya, Sharma told police that Saini had come to Ghaziabad to collect money from someone and had asked him to accompany him. Sharma claimed he had stepped out of the vehicle to urinate when two youths on a motorcycle confronted Saini around 1am on Thursday.“He said the men entered the car and shot Amit while he was seated inside. Sharma claimed he chased them but they escaped, and he could not note down the bike’s registration number,” Maurya said.But the meticulously scripted account began to fall apart during the initial probe. Police found Saini’s body had slumped in the front passenger seat while his head rested on the dashboard. A gunshot wound had pierced the back of his head.“There was no trace of blood inside the car despite the injury, which made us suspect Sharma’s version. We detained him for questioning,” the ACP said.During questioning, Sharma allegedly confessed to plotting the murder with two associates.Police said both Sharma and Saini ran separate eateries inside the Sheetla Mata Mandir complex. The stalls were operated under a sub-contract from a contractor named Bhati. According to police, Saini wanted Sharma’s outlet removed to expand his own business, following which Bhati allegedly asked Sharma to vacate the premises.“Sharma had been nursing a grudge. He hatched a conspiracy with two associates and had Amit Saini killed,” Maurya said.Police have formed teams to arrest the two absconding shooters and are examining CCTV footage from the area to reconstruct their movements.On a complaint from Saini’s family, an FIR was registered against Sharma and two unidentified accused under Section 103 (murder) of the BNS. Saini’s body was sent for an autopsy, whose report was awaited.
