Ex-help, biz manager among 4 held for Ghaziabad couple’s murder on Diwali night

GHAZIABAD: A sacked domestic staffer and a “close family friend” who had a big loan to repay were among four persons arrested in connection with the murder of an elderly couple, who were found dead in their Patel Nagar house on the night of Diwali.
Ashok Zaidka (75) and his wife Madhu (73), who lived on the ground floor of their building, had been battered to death with a hammer, police said.The murder, the cops said, was executed by Sunder Kushwaha, who was a domestic staffer at the couple’s house for 15 years but was sacked three months ago, and two friends from his village in Madhya Pradesh. But the plan had been allegedly hatched by Rohit Narula, the owner of a motor showroom who also managed Ashok’s pharmaceutical business since the 75-year-old developed paralysis 20 years ago.
Pawan Kumar, the Ghaziabad SSP, said Sunder fell out with the couple after they told him to pay Rs 4,000 a month for the room they had given to him to stay or look for another job. Sunder pleaded inability to pay the money and was sacked. He started working as a daily wage labourer and stayed with his two friends — Atul Kumar and Aazad.
Narula, who was aware of the grudge Sunder had been nursing against his former employers for 15 years, allegedly instigated him to commit the murders and take his revenge. He threw in a bait — promising to bear the expenses of the wedding of Sunder’s daughter.
“While being sacked, Sunder was allegedly not paid any money. He was worried about how to get his daughter married off. Rohit Narula promised to take care of that and instigated him to murder the couple,” SP (city 1) Nipurn Aggarwal said.
But why did Narula, who ran a business of his own, want Ashok and his wife killed? Agarwal explained: “There are two reasons for that. First, Rohit Narula was repaying a Rs 61 lakh loan along with interest that his father had taken from Ashok in 2008. So far, he had managed to pay back only Rs 20 lakh. Whenever he failed to pay the monthly installment, he faced rude behaviour from the couple. Secondly, Ashok was a witness in a property dispute case between Rohit Narula and his uncle. Rohit feared Ashok might back his uncle in court.”
Since Narula would manage Ashok’s business, he would invest the elderly man’s money in different schemes. “He wanted to grab all that money after their murder,” the officer said.
Investigations have revealed that around 8.30pm on Diwali, Sunder and his two friends aborted the first attempt to enter the house of the couple after they saw a group of youths bursting crackers near the building. Around 15 minutes later, when the road was nearly empty, they knocked on the door.
“No sooner did Madhu open the door, Sunder attacked her with a hammer. She was hit five times on the head. They then barged into Ashok’s bedroom and battered his head with the hammer. He was hit at least eight times. They then slipped out of the house and no one found anything amiss amid Diwali celebrations,” Aggarwal said. According to him, Sunder and Atul went inside the house while Aazad stayed outside and kept watch.
Sunder and his friends came under police scanner after CCTV footage showed them loitering outside the couple’s house around the time of the murder. They were picked up on Tuesday morning from Sihani Gate area. The hammer allegedly used in the murder was also recovered from them, the police said. Rohit was arrested from his house, also in Sihani Gate. They were all booked for murder and remanded in judicial custody.