One of the key suspects in the brutal murder of history-sheeter Kamal Chauhan was arrested following a police encounter in the Katghar area of Moradabad on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Identified as Sunny Diwakar, who is also a known history sheeter, he was injured in one of his legs in the exchange of fire.
Chauhan, the district president of the Hindu Samaj Party and a known history-sheeter with eight cases pending against him at the Katghar police station, was shot dead near Karbala Maidan in Katghar on Sunday evening. He was returning home with his friend Vishal Sharma on a scooter when armed attackers opened fire on them.
The attackers, led by history-sheeter Diwakar and his associates, shot Kamal in the temple and chest, leaving him severely injured. He collapsed on the spot. He rushed to Sai Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The attack reportedly stemmed from a longstanding power struggle between the two. Family members alleged that Kamal had been receiving threats from the attackers, who had warned him about killing him four days before the incident.
After Sunday’s attack, police recovered a 315-bore cartridge from the crime scene and suspect the use of similar pistols in the murder. The investigation further revealed that Diwakar and his group, who have multiple criminal cases registered against them, including those of NDPS violations and attempted murder, were behind the killing.
A case was registered against Diwakar, Monu Pal, Vicky Diwakar, Nihal Valmiki, Subhash Yadav, and Nakul Yadav. Five police teams from the local police, Special Operations Group (SOG) and surveillance units began tracking the accused.
Around 1 pm on Tuesday, police spotted Sunny riding a bike in Katghar. He tried to escape when officers signalled him to stop, but crashed and fell. He then opened fire at the police, prompting a retaliatory action in which the police shot him in the leg and apprehended him.
Sunny was taken to the district hospital, where City SP Kumar Ranvijay Singh interrogated him. During questioning, Sunny admitted to conspiring with others to murder Chauhan due to their ongoing dispute.
Singh stated that efforts were underway to arrest the remaining suspects and dismantle the network responsible for the escalating violence in the area.