Uttar Pradesh: Indian Army jawan shot dead in Saharanpur; was on leave to testify in a murder case

Uttar Pradesh: He returned home on leave, not for rest, but to seek justice in his cousin’s murder case. But fate had other plans for Vikrant Gurjar, a jawan of the Indian Army. 

Little did Vikrant know that he would fall to bullets, not on the battlefield, but in his own village in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh. Vikrant was allegedly shot dead by unknown assailants, police said on Thursday, April 10. 

Twenty-seven-year-old Vikrant lived in Mudikhedi village of Saharanpur – about 200 kilometres from the national capital.  He was posted in Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir - miles away from his home. 

Vikrant came home on Tuesday, April 8, on a four-day leave to testify in a murder case, officials were quoted as saying in a report by news agency PTI. Vikrant was allegedly killed between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. 

According to his family, Gurjar went out for a walk after dinner, but when he did not return, they tried to contact him over the phone. However, his phone was found switched off.

Witness in cousin's murder case

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). Saharanpur said, prima facie, this appears to be a case of murder. "The family has expressed suspicions, and a complaint has been registered. We are examining all angles, including the old murder case in which Vikrant was a witness," he was quoted as saying by ETV Bharat.

Early Thursday morning, some villagers contacted the family after finding his body near a road with gunshot wounds to his head and chest, Sagar Jain, Superintendent of Police (Rural), Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh told news agency PTI. 

The family says he was the key witness in the murder of his cousin Rajat, who was stabbed to death four years ago.  Besides, senior officers are present in the village and have deployed an additional police force to check for any untoward incident, Jain added.

Another Case

In a similar case in neighbouring Muzaffarnagar, a 35-year-old murder case witness was shot dead in Bijopura village, police said on Monday. The deceased identified Salman was a key witness in his brother's murder case, pending in a Meerut court, Circle Officer Devwrat Bajpai told reporters.

Police identified the key accused as Irfan. He and four of his associates - Kaliya, Mohammad Ali, Naimuddin, and Fazil - all Meerut natives - have been charged in Salman's murder.

(With agency inputs)