Gurgaon: After allegedly beating and strangling a 52-year-old auto-rickshaw driver over the loss of a company transport contract, two men drove around the city for nearly five hours with his body in the vehicle before dumping it in bushes near Appu Ghar in Sector 29, police said.The accused, identified as Mukesh Mandal alias Makkar (37) and Ganesh Kumar alias Kallu (25), were arrested on Monday. Police said the murder took place near Khandsa Mandi Road on the evening of Oct 8. The body was found the next morning.A bus driver spotted the body around 9.30am on Oct 9 near the parking area. He initially thought a man had passed out in the bushes but realised he was dead and alerted police. A forensic team inspected the spot before the body was shifted for a post-mortem examination.The deceased, Arvind Singh Sikarwar, was from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and had been driving an auto in Gurgaon for nearly two decades. His family was contacted on Monday and identified him.“He left home around 4pm on Oct 8 after having food and went out for work. He did not return for two days. We searched for him but could not trace him,” his elder brother, Surender Singh Sikarwar, said.Surender said Arvind had known Mukesh for six to seven years. He added that his brother had earlier spent two years in jail in assault cases and had resumed driving an auto after being released six years ago. The family noticed nail marks and other injuries on his neck after learning of his death, he said.According to police, Arvind drove Mukesh’s auto under a company contract to ferry employees. An officer said Mukesh allegedly blamed him for losing the contract because he repeatedly failed to transport employees on time.Police also cited resentment over Arvind’s alleged substance use and abusive language towards Mukesh.“The duo first assaulted him before strangling him. They then put his body in the auto and drove around for nearly five hours before dumping it near Appu Ghar,” the officer said.Mandal, originally from Darbhanga in Bihar, lives in Om Nagar, while Kumar, a native of Gwalior, lives in Hira Nagar. A case was registered at Sector 29 police station. The accused are being questioned, and further investigation is underway.
