Ghaziabad: Frustrated by his grandson’s drinking, mounting debts and repeated demands for money, a 79-year-old man and his younger son allegedly plotted his murder and attacked him while he slept on their terrace. The grandfather then allegedly staged a false trail, telling cops three friends had dropped the 35-year-old home drunk, hours before he was found dead the next morning.Ashwani alias Ashu was found with multiple injuries to his head and face on the terrace of his grandfather Bhim Singh’s house in Nandgram on Sunday morning. His father, Mukesh Singh, initially lodged a complaint against unknown persons, following which an FIR under Section 103 (murder) of BNS was registered at Nandgram police station.ACP (Nandgram) Ziauddin Ahmad said Ashu’s drinking had strained the family to the point that his parents were living separately in the neighbourhood on rent. He frequently demanded money from Bhim Singh for liquor and allegedly assaulted him when refused.Police said Bhim had sold half his share of the house for about Rs 9 lakh. Of this, Rs 6 lakh went towards a loan Ashu had taken for various purposes, while another Rs 1.5 lakh was used to clear his liquor-related debt. Despite this, police said, Ashu continued demanding money from his grandfather.On Sept 12, Ashu returned home drunk around 8.30pm and demanded money from Bhim. When he refused, Ashu allegedly threatened his grandfather and left. Around 10.30pm, he returned and went to the terrace to sleep.“Bhim Singh told this to his younger son Rajesh. Later that night, both of them attacked Ashu while he was sleeping, using a sharp-edged weapon and sticks,” Ahmad said.The next morning, Bhim allegedly climbed onto the terrace and raised an alarm, claiming he found Ashu dead on the cot. Rajesh dialled 112. To mislead police, Bhim allegedly claimed three of Ashu’s friends had brought him home the previous night in an inebriated condition.Bhim told the cops the friends had said Ashu was unwell and they had come to drop him safely. Since the house’s electricity connection was disconnected, darkness prevented him from noticing injuries, Bhim claimed.Police arrested Bhim and Rajesh (48). Ahmad said Rajesh confessed during questioning that he and his father killed Ashu. “We attacked several parts of his body with a daav and a stick,” an officer quoted him as saying.Rajesh allegedly said they cleaned the daav with a pillow cover and hid it inside the house, while throwing the stick and cover into a vacant plot nearby. Police said further investigation is underway.
