Man shot dead in Noida allegedly by relatives over property dispute (file photo)
A day after his son was shot allegedly by four of his relatives outside his house near Noida, Gajraj Singh, wearing a blood-stained pyjama, recalled the horror of watching the fatal shooting of his 25-year-old son over a property dispute.
Bhati, a gym instructor, was shot in cold blood while he was parking a car at around 8.30 pm on Tuesday outside his house in Salarpur village in Noida, allegedly by Gajraj Singh's cousins over a property dispute.
"Before my son could park his car, another car parked ahead of him and one Scorpio SUV behind him. Even before Bhati could get out, five persons rushed towards his car and while one of them took away his keys, four others opened fire," said 48-year-old Gajraj Singh, who watched the horror from his balcony.
Mr Singh said he rushed downstairs to confront the attackers, but by then they has escaped. "My son was covered in blood with gunshot wounds all over his body," the grieving father said.
Though Bhati was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was declared brought dead.
Alleging that the cops were bribed by the attackers, Mr Singh said that they had filed multiple complaints with police against "criminals" who had attacked Bhati earlier also, but no action was taken.
On Wednesday morning, Gajraj Singh along with other villagers blocked a highway in the area by placing Bhati's body there to protest police inaction. They called off protest after the senior cop promised action. He, however, did not sound optimistic about any police action.
"Police did nothing when my son was alive. Do you think they're going to do something after he is dead?" he said. Gajraj Singh said his accused relatives had taken over his land along the main road and were constructing a building there, against which he had obtained a court stay.
At their house, around 50 women mourners sat on the ground, most of them crying. Loud wails broke out when someone called out Bhati's name.
Bhati is survived by his wife and two sons, aged three and five. "His wife Ratna has been crying all along and has been taken to a doctor after she fainted," a person standing among a group of onlookers outside the house said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)