‘AAP leader was burnt alive in car by partner’
GHAZIABAD: The 44-year-old Delhibased Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, who was found charred to death inside his SUV 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 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. After investigation into the case, 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 the prime accused to stay with him in a rented 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’ they purchased and offered it to the victim,” said Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police (SSP).
The police said that the sedatives in the delicacy led victim into a semi-conscious state. Taking advantage, the men 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 in a bottle from a local shop and later set the vehicle afire in which the unconscious victim was burnt alive ,” said Dinesh Yadav, SHO of Sahibabad police station.
Following the arrest, the officials said that they recovered ₹4.85 lakh while the rest of the money was with Tayyab’s father who is also an accused in the case and presently at large. The two accused brothers are from Muradnagar, while their friend is from Bhojpur in Ghaziabad.
“Naveen was into event management and would organise gay parties at prominent hotels in Delhi. I met him through a common friend in November last year. We went for a camping trip near Rishikesh around 4-5 months ago where he prepared a video inside the tent in which we were sleeping,” accused Tayyab told the police.
However, the family members of Das denied the allegations by the accused. They said that it was a ploy by the accused to mislead police.
“If they have any evidence (video) of such a relation, they should produce it,” said Manoj Kumar, brother of the victim.
Despite repeated attempts, AAP leaders could not be reached for comments.