Haryana: Gunmen who killed student conducted recces of house

GURGAON: A day after unknown assailants shot a 19-year-old architecture student in front of his house in Faridabad, police said the accused had conducted recces of the area before the murder. While Arun’s family members said they don’t know about the offenders or the possible motive for his murder, police claimed to have identified the suspects and said a manhunt has been launched to nab them.
Arun, who was pursuing an undergraduate architecture course at Deen Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram Govt Polytechnic College in Rohtak’s Sampla, came home over the weekend to celebrate Rakshabandhan.Two men on a bike reached Arun’s house in Adarsh Nagar around 12.30pm on Monday, and one of them called him outside to talk. The man shot Arun point blank as his accomplice waited nearby on the bike. After shooting him, the duo sped off.
Arun’s sister Renu, who had tied a rakhi on his wrist just hours before, and his elder brother Ajay were inside the house when the incident was reported.
The man riding the bike had covered his face with a mask, but the face of the assailant who shot Arun was visible in the CCTV footage captured at a neighbouring house. “The accused were definitely waiting for Arun. They conducted a recce at his house and nearby places, and also visited a shop run by one of his relatives and made inquiries,” a crime branch officer said.
Talking to TOI, Ajay said that he had not seen the assailants before. “My sister, Arun, and I were sitting inside when a stranger opened the gate and entered the premises. He called Arun by name and asked him to come out. Instead of walking out, Arun asked him to come inside and talk to him in our presence. But the other person kept insisting that Arun come out, so my brother went outside. We thought he was Arun’s friend. In hindsight, I believe Arun knew him. Arun did not look alarmed, but he didn’t call the man by his name,” Ajay said.
A few minutes later, Ajay and Renu heard a gunshot. Arun came inside the house holding his chest. “He told us he was shot and collapsed on the bed. We rushed him to hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” Ajay told cops.
On Tuesday, cops showed Arun’s family CCTV footage of the suspects, and Ajay identified the pillion rider as the person who had called Arun and shot him.
“The gunman went to our aunt’s cosmetics store in Adarsh Nagar a couple of times in the past few days making inquiries about Arun. He had asked my cousin who was at the shop, Himanshu, if Arun had come home from Rohtak. When Himanshu asked him for his name and purpose of the inquiry, he didn’t give a response and left the store. Himanshu also confirmed that the pillion rider in the CCTV footage was the same person who had visited their cosmetics store,” Ajay said, adding that Arun didn’t have enmity with anyone.
A senior police officer said they have identified the two suspects and will arrest them soon. “The suspects are residents of Faridabad. We suspect that more than two persons are involved in the crime. Our teams are trying to nab the main suspects. The motive behind the murder will become clear only after their arrests,” a crime branch officer said.
Ballabgarh ACP Vinod Kumar said that their team is working on leads and so far no one has been arrested in the case.