PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
A 21-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his elder sibling in Dehradun’s Patelnagar area. The victim, identified as Sohel Haroon of Bhuddi village, was shot dead inside his house on Sunday night. Police recovered a .32 bore country-made pistol, believed to have been used in the crime, from the washroom where the accused had allegedly hidden it after the murder.
The senior superintendent of police, Dehradun Pramendra Dobal said that Sohel was living with his younger brother Shahid while their parents were away on Haj pilgrimage. After the shooting, Shahid told the relatives and police that a stranger had barged into the house and fired bullets at his elder brother. The injured man was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
After examining the CCTV footage from the house and nearby areas, the investigators found that the house cameras had been switched to live mode and their recordings had been deleted. They also found that no outsider had entered the house at the time of the murder.
Suspecting Shahid’s involvement, police took him into custody for questioning. During interrogation, he broke down and confessed to the killing.
SSP Dobal said that Shahid was upset because Sohel often scolded him for his bad habits and wasteful spending. A few days earlier, Sohel had allegedly beaten him after discovering that Shahid had secretly withdrawn about Rs 10 lakh from their father’s bank account.
He said that Shahid had planned the murder in advance and disabled the CCTV recordings before carrying out the crime. “After the incident, he tried to mislead investigators by spreading a false story about unknown attackers barging into the house,” the SP said.
The accused also allegedly encouraged local people and relatives to block the Dehradun-Paonta National Highway with the victim’s body to divert suspicion from himself. “We have registered another case against Shahid and others involved in the road blockade,” Dobal said.
