Noida:

A former Delhi Police constable has been arrested for allegedly killing a Greater Noida-based businessman to take possession of his flat. The accused, Praveen, 42, was taken into custody late Thursday, 13 days after businessman Ankush Sharma was reported missing by his family. The former constable allegedly planned the murder in a week after watching Ajay Devgn and Tabu’s crime-thriller, Drishyam, and other crime web series.

Mr Praveen first met Mr Sharma through someone. The businessman wanted to sell his flat in a Greater Noida society, said Saad Miya Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Greater Noida.

“The two fixed the deal for ₹1.20 crore. Praveen gave Sharma ₹8 lakh and the transfer memorandum process was initiated between them,” Mr Khan said.

The dispute started after Ankush Sharma found that the price of the flat, in SKA society, was more than what the two parties had agreed upon.

Unhappy, Mr Praveen hatched a plan to kill Ankush Sharma. On August 9, he picked Mr Sharma up from his office, saying he would give him money for the flat.

They later reached a society’s parking where the two started drinking. When Ankush Sharma got drunk, Mr Praveen hit him with a hammer on the head before strangling him to death.

On the night of August 9, Mr Praveen hid the body on a disputed property not visited often by anyone, the senior police official said.

The victim’s family lodged a missing complaint at the Beta-2 police station.

During the investigation, the police looked into more than 100 CCTV footage and intelligence, leading to the arrest of Mr Praveen. He also informed the police where he hid the victim’s body.

The police have also recovered the hammer used in the crime and a car from the accused, Khan said.

Mr Praveen has been booked under Sections 103(1) (charges of murder), 238 (destroying evidence) and 123 (giving poison to another person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The incident comes roughly two weeks after the murder of a Chhattisgarh woman was reported. The 28-year-old was allegedly killed and her body was buried by her estranged husband and paramour. According to officials, the two men also watched Drishyam, taking cues to hide the body and avoid arrest.

The incident took place on July 19 and the police arrested the two accused — Lukesh Sahu (29), the woman’s estranged husband, and Raja Ram Sahu (26) with whom she was in a relationship, an official said.