2 cousins killed for raising voice against illegal chemical factory in Ghaziabad

GHAZIABAD: Police on Friday arrested six people, including the owner of an illegal chemical factory, in connection with the murder of the two cousins whose bodies were found in two farms 800m apart in the Tila Mor area on Wednesday.
Gaurav and Durgesh Kasana, police said, were tortured and killed when they had gone to the illegal chemical factory, located near the two farms where the bodies were found, and asked its owner to shut shop as the unit had been polluting the area with toxic smoke.
Cops said the faces of the two cousins - who had been missing since December 31 - were smashed with bricks before the accused slit their throats and left them to die. Their faces were also burnt partially, possibly with acid, to hide their identities.
Those arrested have been identified as Janak Singh, the owner of the illegal chemical factory and a resident of Delhi, and his four workers - Pintu Lal, Virendra Pal, Sukhveer Singh and Anuj Singh, all originally from Bareilly - and the factory land owner, Sanjeev Kasana, a resident of Loni. Kasana's brother Vinod, another accused, is on the run.
"Singh and his workers had been under the scanner from the beginning after a preliminary probe revealed that the factory was illegally run. Even the family members of the victims suspected Singh's role in the double murder," Diksha Sharma, DCP (trans-Hindon area).
"The locals were not happy with the illegal chemical factory because of the toxic smoke it emanated. On December 29, the deceased had gone with some other locals to protest against the factory owner and a heated exchange took place between the two sides, which was resolved with the intervention of the village elders," the DCP said.
On the night of December 31, police said, the deceased had gone to drop their friend, Ankit, to Bhopura. "While returning, around 10.30pm, the two cousins went to the illegal factory to get it closed permanently. Singh soon called Kasana and he reached the spot along with Vinod," Sharma said.
Again a heated exchange of words ensued between the two sides on that night, police said. "Singh and Kasana soon whiffed out their guns and fired in the air. Moments later, they shot Gaurav dead. Vinod, on the other hand, slit Durgesh's throat with an axe. Later, the accused smashed their faces with bricks and poured acid to hide their identities," the DCP said.
During interrogation, the accused told the cops that they had used a 'charpayi' to dump the bodies in the two adjacent farms and later set it on fire.
The accused have been booked by Tila Mor police under sections 147 & 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence of offence) and 404 (dishonest misappropriation of property) of IPC and under the Arms Act.
"We have seized the guns used in the crime and the bike of the deceased from the possession of the accused. They were sent to judicial custody by a court," another police officer said.