Ghaziabad police arrests one in BJP MLA murder

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police on Monday said they have arrested a sharpshooter who was involved in the murder of BJP leader Gajendra Bhati over a week ago.

Narendra Fauzi, a resident of Sakalpura village in Uttar Pradesh`s Loni, was arrested from his hideout on Sunday night.

Fauzi has been a personal security officer of former Sahibabad MLA Amar Pal Sharma.

During sustained interrogation, Fauzi confessed to the crime. He also revealed that at the behest of Sharma, he killed Bhati in Khoda bordering Delhi on September 2.

A deal of Rs 10 lakh was decided upon, of which Rs 50,000 was paid in advance, the police said quoting Fauzi.

The local BJP leader was killed and his friend was injured when unidentified assailants had fired at them near the R K Memorial in Khoda colony. 

The police also recovered a white-coloured Apache motorcycle and a 0.30 calibre pistol from his possession that were used in the crime. 

"The other accused are on the run. Police teams are conducting raids to nab them," said Senior Superintendent of Police H N Singh.