Land mafia kingpin Moti Goel gunned down on disputed plot in Noida

A 55-year-old alleged land mafia kingpin Moti Goel was shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified men on Monday evening around 4.30pm at a construction site at Barola T-point, near Kesar Garden.

A resident of Ghaziabad, Goel was shot dead when he was sitting in a chair. The police said Goel was undertaking construction on a disputed plot, of over 1,000 square yard area.

In 2017, Goel had registered a case of attempt to murder against few persons, following which the suspects were arrested. In January, Goel had registered a case of cheating against few persons. Both the complaints were made over the plot dispute.

There are a number of cases against Goel in police stations across Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. The police are compiling a list of pending cases, filed by and against him.

The police said few workers were present at the site but no eyewitness has come forward. “The plot where the murder took place is in an isolated area. Few workers were present during the incident but they said they did not witness the incident. We aren’t sure about the number of assailants but we expect the involvement of two to three persons,” Ajay Pal Sharma, senior superintendent of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.

The assailants fired seven bullets, of which three to four hit Goel in the head and stomach. Police have sent the body for a post-mortem examination. No FIR was registered until Monday night.

“We are yet to lodge an FIR because nobody has lodged a complaint. We are trying to understand the whole sequence of events. A case will be registered in a few hours,” Pankaj Pant, SHO, Sector 49, said.

Goel is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons. Police are going to talk to Goel’s family to find out if he had received any death threat.

“We are trying to confirm if Goel was the legitimate owner of this plot. Some others are claiming ownership and partnership of the property. We are yet to get clarity on the ownership of this plot,” Sharma said.

However, Goel, who is allegedly involved in several land encroachment cases, was not named in any of the lists of land mafias prepared by the district magistrate, police, Noida and Greater Noida authorities.

“Until now, we have not come across Goel’s name. We will look into the matter to ascertain why his name was missing if he was active in the district,” Sharma said.

District magistrate BN Singh said, “Goel’s name has not been mentioned by any of the authorities (Noida, Greater Noida or Yamuna expressway). We will find out the reason behind it,” said Singh.

Goel was a resident of Navyug Market in old Ghaziabad city. Many of the traders’ community and his relatives flocked Goel’s residence after the family.

Goel’s family members said he suddenly left home around 4pm with his driver Kailash. They said a land owned by Goel was occupied by land mafia and he had worked hard to get it vacated. Goel’s father, 90-year-old Lajjaram, said he had told his son to sell the land even at a cheaper rate due to threats to his life.