Key suspect held for Gurgaon fruit trader’s murder

Gurgaon: Two days after a 55-year-old fruit trader was stabbed to death during a dispute over parking at Khandsa Mandi, the key suspect was arrested. Bharat Bhushan was killed on Sunday.Jai Bhagwan, 49, alias Situ of Hari Nagar, was arrested from Sonipat on Tuesday following raids conducted at multiple locations after a murder case was registered at Shivaji Nagar police station. The weapon used in the crime is yet to be recovered. The accused was nabbed by a team led by Inspector Lalit, in-charge of Sector 40 crime branch. Earlier, the case was registered following a complaint lodged by Tarachand, the elder brother of the deceased. Apart from Bhagwan, police also named another trader — Rahul — in the FIR.The murder took place around 5.45am amid the presence of traders, labourers and shopkeepers. Bhushan, who was running the business for several years, sustained multiple stab injuries during a violent altercation linked to the parking of a goods vehicle near his shop.ACP Naveen Sharma said, “The murder happened over a parking dispute. The key suspect — Bhagwan — rented his shop to co-accused Rahul for the past many years. After being informed about the dispute by his tenants, Bhagwan reached the spot and stabbed Bhushan multiple times in the chest and stomach with an ice pick. That ruptured the victim’s heart, causing his death. The accused fled Gurgaon.”Police said that since it was not an allotted or earmarked parking lot, the victim exchanged heated arguments with the accused two-three times in the past. Bhushan was rushed to a nearby hospital immediately after the attack, where doctors declared him dead during treatment. Medical examination indicated that excessive blood loss caused the death.Investigators said Rahul operated from a rented shop where the fruit-laden vehicle was being unloaded at the time of the dispute. Bhagwan worked as a fruit commission agent from a neighbouring shop in the mandi.Investigators are also examining a nearly two-minute-long video of the incident that surfaced after the murder. The footage captures two men arguing near a truck loaded with fruits while several traders and labourers stand nearby watching the confrontation unfold.As the argument escalates, the two men are seen getting into a physical scuffle before Bhagwan allegedly pulls out an ice pick and attacks Bhushan repeatedly. Several persons present at the mandi are also seen trying to intervene and separate the two during the assault.According to eyewitnesses and family members, Bhushan arrived at the mandi early to unload goods and park his truck in the designated space near his shop. Tarachand told police that another shopkeeper objected to the manner in which the vehicle was parked and asked the driver to move it. After the truck was repositioned, someone from the shop where the unloading was taking place called Bhagwan to the spot.“As the confrontation escalated, nearby commission agents and labourers gathered there. Jai came and entered into an argument with me, after which Bharat also got involved,” Tarachand said in his complaint. The victim collapsed immediately after suffering the injuries, he added.Family members alleged that the dispute intensified after Bharat asked Bhagwan and others to remove pomegranate boxes lying in the parking area where the truck was to be stationed.Soon after the incident, forensic experts and senior police officials, along with the crime branch teams, visited the mandi premises and collected evidence from the crime scene.