Noida: A lawyer was shot dead allegedly by an unidentified assailant in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, police officials said Tuesday. They suspected a familial property rivalry as trigger for the killing. The incident took place Monday night when the lawyer, who has been identified as Ilahabas village resident Nishant Singh, aged around 30 years, was returning home, the officials said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Harish Chander said the local Phase 2 police station officials were alerted that a lawyer was admitted to a hospital with gunshot wounds. “As it has emerged during initial probe, he died of gunshot injuries,” Chander said.
Chander said the police have contacted the deceased’s family and visited the incident site for investigation. “It emerged during initial probe that Nishant had a property-related dispute with some relatives since a long time. His sister also had a dispute with her in-laws. These two angles are being probed in detail,” the DCP informed.
The police later said Singh’s cousin Sandeep has been identified as a possible suspect behind the killing. They informed that the families of both had a long-standing rivalry related to a property. There have been conflicts between the two sides in the past also but then preventive measures were taken by the police.
“Nishant and Sandeep’s fathers are brothers but their families do not live together,” a police official said.
Meanwhile, the police said an FIR has been lodged and four teams have been formed to track down and arrest Sandeep, who is absconding. A reward of Rs 25,000 has also been announced on his arrest, the police added.