The 26-year-old son of a Delhi Police assistant commissioner was allegedly pushed into a canal by two of his friends over a long-running financial dispute, police said on Friday.
A search operation has been launched to find the victim Lakshya Chauhan. Meanwhile, the police have arrested one of his two friends and efforts are on to nab the other.
Chauhan and his two friends – Vikas Bhardwaj and Abhishek – had gone to Sonipat in Haryana to attend the wedding ceremony on Monday.
However, when he did not come home on Tuesday and his phone was switched off, his father ACP Yashpal Singh lodged a missing complaint on Tuesday. Singh was posted as ACP (Operations) in Outer-North Delhi.
During the investigation, the police suspected foul play in Chauhan’s disappearance and her missing complaint was converted into a kidnapping FIR. A police officer associated with the case said that on Friday, murder charges were also added to the case and one person was arrested.
Chauhan, a lawyer by profession, lived with his parents in Samaypur Badli area of outer Delhi. He was practicing in Tis Hazari Court. Abhishek was his acquaintance, while Bhardwaj was working as a clerk for another lawyer in Tis Hazari.
Three days after Chauhan went missing, 19-year-old Abhishek was detained by the police for questioning. During interrogation, she told the police that Bhardwaj had called her on Monday afternoon, and asked her to attend a marriage ceremony with him and Chauhan in Sonipat.
Bhardwaj had also told him that Chauhan had borrowed some money from him but whenever he asked him to return it, he misbehaved with him. The officer said that Bhardwaj then conspired with Abhishek to eliminate the top policeman’s son.
ACP Singh’s son picked up the accused near Mukarba Chowk in Rohini. Another officer said that they reached the wedding venue at night and left from there after 12 o’clock.
On their way back, the trio stopped the car on the roadside to go to a nature refuge near Munak Canal. Finding the right moment, Bhardwaj and Abhishek allegedly pushed Chauhan into the canal and fled the scene in their car.
After entering Delhi, Bhardwaj dropped Abhishek near Narela and left from there. A police officer said that Abhishek was detained from his close friend in Narela on Thursday.
Based on Abhishek’s statement, he was arrested and sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were added to the FIR for kidnapping.
“We arrested Abhishek after he along with Vikas confessed to murdering Chauhan by pushing him into the Munak canal, which is about 16 feet deep and has four channels, two of which lead towards Delhi and the other two towards Haryana Flows. The search for Chauhan’s body continued on Friday also. But divers have not been able to find it yet,” an official was quoted as saying Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, the police said they have learned that Bhardwaj is trying to seek legal help by telling people close to him that he killed Chauhan by pushing him into the canal after a heated argument in the early hours of Tuesday, January 23.
A massive search operation is underway to find the body of Vikas Bhardwaj, Lakshya and nab the second accused.
,With PTI inputs)
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
