Ex-serviceman held for killing travel agent in north Delhi

NEW DELHI: An ex-serviceman was arrested for allegedly murdering a travel agent over monetary issue in north Delhi's Mori Gate area in February this year, police said on Wednesday.
They said the accused, Sanjesh Kumar Chauhan alias Fauji, was apprehended from Awaari village in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district where he had been hiding since February 7, when the incident took place.
After killing travel agent Akhilesh Tiwari, the accused fled the spot and reached his home state from where he was nabbed after four months, police said.
According to police, Chauhan is also involved in another case of causing hurt and intimidation in Etawah in January this year.
The two had a tiff over operating buses on the same route and in addition to this, the victim had to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to the accused which he was delaying. Chauhan along with his associates hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Tiwari.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar said a team led by Inspector Shiv Kumar under the supervision of ACP Attar Singh arrested Chauhan, an absconding criminal, from his native place in Etawah on Tuesday.
The court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the case, he said.
"There was information about movement of absconding the accused in Etawah and its adjoining area. This information was further developed through manual and technical surveillance and after efforts for around one month, our team got a tip off about his presence in Awaari village. Later, our team was sent there and the accused was apprehended at about 8 pm on Tuesday from his sister's house," the DCP added.
The accused was operating four buses on the Delhi-Etawah-Kanpur route and the victim, Tiwari, was a travel agent who had his office in Mori Gate area. Tiwari would book tickets for the buses which were being operated by Chauhan, the senior police officer said.
Tiwari wanted to run his own bus on the same route which irked Chauhan. Further, he owed Rs 1.5 lakh to the accused. Due to this and on account of non-payment of the amount by the victim, the accused planned to kill Tiwari, he said.
"According to the plan, the accused along with his two associates -- Udayveer alias Baba, a gangster and Vishnu -- reached the victim's office on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday and shot him dead," he added.
After retiring from the Indian Army in January 2021, Chauhan had purchased four buses and started operating these buses on the Delhi-Etawah-Kanpur route, police said.
Udayveer alias Baba, already arrested in this case, is a notorious criminal of Etawah and is previously involved in 50 criminal cases. The pistols carried by the accused in committing the murder were arranged by Chauhan. Their other associate Vishnu has already been arrested in the case, they said.