The accused, who allegedly kidnapped and strangulated a south Delhi based businessman to death over a property dispute, conducted a recce of his house 15 days before they committed the crime, the police said.
ACP (Crime Branch) B.K. Singh said that the accused have been identified as Rishi Rajpal Singh Chauhan (64), his son Hitesh Chauhan (29), Amet Vikram Chhabra (32), Priyank Khanna (34) and Sahil alias Bunty (25). They allegedly kidnapped Arun Kumar Sharma from near Kailash Colony metro station on November 15 when he was on his way to Gurugram to meet his lawyer. They killed him before dumping his body in Jhansi.
The police said that Sharma and Chauhan, a medical practitioner, were business partners dealing in real estate but had a fallout in 2009. The power of attorney of the land on which Chauhan lives was in Sharma’s name. In 2009, he staked claim to the property worth ₹3 crore and the matter went to the court. In 2019, Sharma won the title of the land from Supreme Court and the date of execution had been fixed for November 15. After execution, the court would have ordered eviction notice and Chauhan’s family would have had to vacate.
In October, Chauhan allegedly shared the issue with a friend Harsh Chhabra who promised to help him but said elimination of Sharma would cost him ₹25 lakh to which Chauhan agreed. “Chhabra sent his son Amet to Chauhan’s house to discuss the matter,” Mr. Singh said, adding that ₹1 lakh was paid in advance.
