A week after a dairy owner was shot at and forcibly abducted near an underpass in Loni by a group of five youths, police have arrested one of the main accused, a 21-year-old man identified as Mohit Pandit. During interrogation, Pandit disclosed that the victim, Omkar, died during the kidnapping and that they disposed of his body near a canal in Baghpat. However, the body has yet to be recovered.
Police Search for Body
Deputy Commissioner of Police (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari stated that more than 20 teams, including the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), are conducting searches for the body in the areas of Masuri, Muradnagar, and Modinagar. “Soon, we will convert the attempt to murder charge against the five accused to a murder charge,” he added.
The remaining four suspects are still at large. Police have announced a reward of Rs. 50,000 for information leading to the arrest of each of them.
Motive: Road Rage Incident
Pandit, who hails from Ganauli village—the same village as the victim—confirmed during interrogation that the group conspired to kill Omkar due to a road rage incident between his friend Saurav, one of the accused, and Omkar’s son.
“Mohit stated that on May 20, Omkar’s son Devansh and Saurabh had a heated argument after their car hit Devansh. Devansh was travelling in his Hyundai Santro car and the accused were in a white Swift car. Later, Omkar’s son filed a complaint at the Loni police station. The matter then reached the panchayat but no understanding was reached,” the DCP said.
While the panchayat was trying to mediate, Omkar allegedly insulted and assaulted Saurabh and Saurabh’s father Vijender, according to Mohit. Following this, the friends planned to kill Omkar. The group purchased a pistol and confronted Omkar on the morning of May 31 as he was going to buy fodder.
“They then went to Baghpat, bypassing the Hindon river, reached the Pithkhas bridge, went deeper into the jungle along the canal bank and dumped his body there,” Tiwari said.
Family Protests and Police Action
The victim’s family staged a protest, accusing police of moving too slowly in the investigation. On Thursday, the family blocked the Chirori-Banthla road, expressing their frustration. Before Pandit’s arrest, the family did not know whether Omkar was alive or dead.
Omkar’s brother Surendra said the May 31 attack was not the first time his family was targeted over the road rage dispute. “On May 20 too, the accused had followed my brother’s son and attacked him. An FIR was registered at Loni police station,” he added. However, the SHO questioned them and let them go, he claimed. The DCP later suspended the SHO of the Loni police station over this matter, and a departmental inquiry was ordered against the station in-charge.
Up to Tuesday, 17 relatives of the accused were arrested for sheltering them.
