Joginder Khatana, the brother of Jannayak Janata Party leader Rohtash Khatana, has been arrested
The STF has arrested Joginder Khatana, a property dealer and younger brother of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) leader Rohtash Khatana, in connection with the murder of local BJP leader Sukhbir Khatana alias Sukhi, police here said on Thursday.
Joginder, 50, was arrested by the Special Task Force Wednesday night on conspiracy charges on the basis of a confession of the main accused Chaman.
Joginder, a political rival of Sukhbir, had hatched a conspiracy and hired Chaman for Rs 25 lakh to kill him, said STF.
Joginder was produced in a city court Thursday and has been taken on a one-day police remand by the STF.
Sources said possibilities of involvement of the JJP leader in the murder could not be ruled out.
The accused will be produced again in the court on Friday, said a senior investigating officer.
According to police, Chaman too had a beef to settle with Sukhbir, whom his sister had married against his wishes years ago.
Chaman was in his teenage when his sister married Sukhbir and was taunted by the people in his village for it, said a senior police officer.
"Finally Chaman with the help of gangster Papla Gujjar gunned down Sukhbir Khatana in a Raymond showroom on September 1.
"We are interrogating the accused and hope some more persons' involvement could be revealed during the interrogation," B Satheesh Balan, Inspector General, STF, Gurugram, said.
Sukhbir Khatana was very close to Joginder Khatana's family earlier but differences cropped up between them during the Zila Parishad election, just before the assembly election in 2019, said another police officer.
"Sukhbir separated himself from Joginder's family and joined BJP. Rohtash Khatana, brother of Joginder, who was fielded as candidate by the JJP from Sohna-Tauru constituency, lost the election," said Jaiveer Rathee, DSP, STF.
Rathee said that after the election, the animosity between the two factions escalated even further, culminating in Joginder Khatana's roping in of Chaman, Sukhbir's once estranged brother-in-law, to kill him.
"My father had married Chaman's sister about 17 years ago. My father had at length pacified him and also helped him many times. His murder was planned by Joginder and others. We want all accused to be brought to book," Anurag Khatana, son of Sukhbir Khatana, said.
Sukhbir Khatana, 46, was gunned down by armed assailants inside a Raymond showroom located on Gurudwara Road near Sadar Bazaar on September 1.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)