Land mafia kingpin Motilal Goel was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants on the evening of April 16.
Motilal Goel's killers arrested
The Gautam Budh Nagar police arrested two sharp shooters on Monday night at Sector 49, Noida, regarding the murder of the famous land mafia kingpin Motilal Goel on April 16.
The Police said that the two sharp shooters were hired for ten lakh rupees by an absconding history-sheeter, Harender. They further added that the shooters had earlier too made several unsuccessful attempts to kill Goel.
According to the police, the accused have been identified as Amit Pehelwan and Rahul Gujjar. They had shot Motilal Goel several times while he was supervising the construction work of a commercial plaza near Salarpur road.
“We had recovered cartridges of a .30 carbine pistol from the body of the deceased after which we had formed a team to nab the culprits. Technical surveillance was also carried out which showed the presence of the two accused in the area at the time of the murder,” said Arun Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police (City).
Singh also said that the police had received a tip-off that Amit and Rahul were travelling with another person towards sector 71, Noida. As a result, they had set up barricades and were checking vehicles near sector 49, Noida.
“As we spotted the bike which was used in the crime, we asked them to stop. However, instead of stopping they fired at the police party. After a brief encounter, the two accused were arrested while the third person accompanying them managed to flee away. We recovered a .30 carbine pistol from their possession along with a country made pistol (Desi Tamancha)," said Singh.
“During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were hired for ten lakh rupees by a person named Harender to eliminate Goel. Harender is a resident of Dankaur and a former councilor of Greater Noida. He had promised to pay them five lakh rupees each regarding this purpose and had already made an advance payment of fifty thousand rupees. On the day of the murder, both the sharpshooters arrived on a Bajaj Pulsar near the commercial plaza where Goel was supervising construction work. Then, they parked the bike outside the boundary wall of the plot and entered the premises. Amit had the .30 carbine with which he shot Goel while Rahul was on the bike,” Singh said.
"The accused revealed that they met Harender at the GB Nagar district court around two months ago and he hired them for eliminating Goel. He told them that he had some land dispute with Goel and the latter was not ready for a compromise," said Singh.
Police said that Harender had told the sharpshooters that he would provide them a bike and two pistols. He used to roam around with the two accused and they kept a track of Goel’s daily routine.
"The three of them used to roam behind Goel to check his routine and places he visited. They even tried to eliminate Goel earlier on April 2 and 4 but were unsuccessful. However, they were able to fulfill their motive on April 16," said Singh.
Police said that Harender is a history sheeter and has earlier even been to prison in a murder case. On the other hand, Amit and Rahul too have indulged in several criminal activities in the past.
Police had earlier lodged an FIR on April 17 against six people in connection with the murder of Motilal Goel. According to police, the family members of the deceased have named Anil, Vikram, Vijay and Brijpal along with two unidentified men as suspects in his murder.
The FIR was registered under IPC sections 302 (Punishment for murder), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), 120B (Punishment for criminal conspiracy) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Police have formed teams to nab Harender and verify the connection between him and the arrested sharpshooters. The other four accused named in the FIR are still absconding. "More information will be revealed when Harender is arrested, Singh added.
