Former local council chief shot dead in gang war

GREATER NOIDA - The former head of a town council in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida district was shot dead Thursday during a gunfight with a rival gang, police said.

Abdul Kadir, a former chairman of Bilaspur town council, had a long history of crime, Greater Noida Superintendent of Police S.K. Verma said.

According to Verma, a call was received at the district’s Dankaur police station that two groups were firing at each other in Bilaspur town.

A police team rushed to the spot and found that groups led by Kadir and Tahir Guru, respectively, were engaged in a gunfight.

After an hour’s exchange of firing, Kadir was found dead near the mosque while a pan shop owner also sustained gun shot injuries.

The two were taken to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida where doctors declared Kadir dead while the shop owner was admitted for treatment. The attending doctor termed his condition critical.

“The other group led by Guru fled the spot. However, a criminal identified as Zafar Ali was arrested from the spot and a pistol was recovered from his possession,” Verma added.