Ghaziabad police has arrested Mukesh Kumar, the security in-charge at the under-construction site in Indirapuram, where a security guard was found murdered on November 26.
The accused was arrested on November 30 from the slums near the Sarvottam Shree construction site, where he was living alone. He was hired to keep track of the guards on duty hours.
Anil Kumar Yadav, Circle Officer of Indirapuram zone, said police made the arrest based on the inconsistencies in the statements of the other guards at the site on November 25 night. Kumar later confessed to the crime.
Ram Bahadur Thakur, the 60-year-old victim, was found dead on the first floor of a tower in Sarvottam Shree, the under-construction society in question.
Mukesh Kumar (in blue shirt) with the Ghaziabad police
Police said the murder was a result of a tiff between Thakur and Kumar. The latter woke up Thakur after he was found sleeping on duty hours. The altercation started after an angry Thakur attacked Kumar, landing a punch on his chest. Kumar, a much younger man, pushed the victim hard, who hit his head on a pillar and fell to the floor. However, Kumar didn't stop, and attacked him with iron rods, killing him on the spot. He then informed his supervisor, Uday Shankar, of the body, who then informed the police.
Police are of the opinion that the caste difference between the two — Thakur came from a higher caste and Kumar from a lower one — could also have fuelled the brawl.
Kumar and the other guards posted at the site told police that previously there had been many altercations between the two. The victim, they said, had often hurled casteist abuses at Kumar.
