UP News: A Delhi police constable has been arrested for alleged murder of businessman Ankush Sharma over a dispute related to a property deal. The accused was identified as Praveen, 42, who was taken into custody late on Thursday.


According to an NDTV report, the police constable allegedly planned to kill the businessman after watching Ajay Devgn and Tabu's crime-thriller, Drishyam, and other crime web series.


Speaking on the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Greater Noida Saad Miya Khan said the businessman went missing on August 9 and was later found murdered. During the probe, it was revealed that Praveen, a Delhi police constable, was involved in a property deal with Sharma and committed the crime.


Speaking to ANI DCP Greater Noida, Saad Miya Khan said, "On August 9 a businessman named Ankush Sharma went missing and was later found murdered by Praveen, with whom he was doing a property deal. Praveen has been arrested, and in the murder, the car and weapon have been recovered...Praveen is working as a constable in the Delhi police."


"A dispute was going on between them in connection with the property deal... On August 9, Praveen strangulated Ankush and later hit him with a hammer. The next day he dumped the body of Ankush," DCP Khan further stated.


‘Fixed Deal For Rs 1.20 Crore’


Elaborating further on the incident, DCP Khan said that Praveen and Sharma had fixed the deal for Rs 1.20 crore. "The two fixed the deal for Rs 1.20 crore. Praveen gave Sharma ₹8 lakh, and the transfer memorandum process was initiated between them,” Khan said, as quoted by NDTV.


Sequence Of Events


The dispute between the two began after Ankush Sharma found that the price of the flat, in SKA society, was more than what was agreed upon in the deal.


Later, Praveen, unhappy with Sharma, hatched a plan to kill him. According to the NDTV report, he picked Sharma up from his office on August 9, saying he would give him money for the flat. They later arrived at a society's parking, where the two started drinking.


After realising that Businessman Sharma was drunk, Praveen seized the moment and hit him with a hammer on the head and strangled him to death. On the night of August 9, he hid the body on a disputed property, which was not often visited by anyone, the senior police official said.


The victim's family lodged a missing complaint at the Beta-2 police station. The police arrested the accused with the help of more than 100 CCTV footage, NDTV reported. He also told the police where he hid the victim's body.


Following the arrest, the police also recovered the hammer used in the crime and a car from the accused. According to NDTV, Praveen has been booked under Sections 103(1) (charges of murder), 238 (destroying evidence), and 123 (giving poison to another person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).