AAP leader kidnapped, burnt alive in Gzb
GHAZIABAD: The 44-year-old Delhibased Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, who was found charred to death inside his car in Ghaziabad on October 5, was kidnapped for money and later burnt alive in his car allegedly by his friend, police said on Wednesday. The Ghaziabad police have arrested three men and claimed that the victim was allegedly in a relationship with the prime accused, and was forcing the latter to stay with him after threatening to make a video viral.
The burnt body of Naveen Das was found inside his Vitara Brezza at around 3am on Lonibhopra road. His family later alleged that it was a murder and lodged an FIR at Sahibabad police station in Ghaziabad. After investigation, the police arrested prime accused Tayyab Qureshi, his brother Talib Qureshi and their friend Samar Khan who allegedly were part of conspiracy to murder Das.
“During investigation, we came to know that the victim and Tayyab were in a relationship and the victim allegedly had a video on the basis of which he was forcing Tayyab to stay with him in a flat. To get rid of the victim, Tayyab called him to Loni on the night of the incident. They mixed sleeping pills in a pack of ‘halwa’ and offered it to the victim,” said Vaibhav Krishna, SSP.
Police said after Das fell unconscious, the accused used his bank account and ATM cards to rob him of nearly ₹7.85 lakh.
“Midway from Loni to the scene of crime, the accused purchased two litres of petrol and later set the vehicle afire,” said Dinesh Yadav, SHO of Sahibabad police station.
After setting Das and his car on fire, the men fled with his iphone and documents. “We found that his mobile was active even after the incident. The accused said that they wanted to delete the alleged video in his mobile and also roamed around with the phone to mislead police,” Yadav added.
Following the arrest, the officials said they recovered ₹4.85 lakh while the rest of the money was with Tayyab’s father who is an accused in the case.
Das’s family denied the allegations about the alleged relationship. They said it was a ploy by the accused to mislead police. “If they have any evidence (video) of such a relation, they should produce it. It was his intent to extort as much money as possible ,” said Manoj Kumar, brother of the victim.