Chirag Tyagi, a national level para-athlete has been killed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The promising 26-year old para-athlete was reportedly shot dead by his friend Yash Khatik, also a para-athlete.
Chirag had not returned home on Wednesday despite telling his family that he would be back home by afternoon. Days later, on Saturday afternoon, the police recovered his body from the Sai Kunj area in Ghaziabad.
Days before para-athlete Chirag Tyagi was murdered, he had qualified for the Para Asian Games and was scheduled to travel to Japan in October. However, dreams came to a tragic end with his murder.
The young para-athlete did not return home on Wednesday and his phone was switched off after he made a call home. When he did not return and his family could not reach him, they filed a complaint with the police.
His body was found by the police on Saturday and while the exact cause and method of murder are not clear yet, the fact that he was shot was apparent. The suspect, Yash Kathik, a trusted friend of Chirag has also been arrested and a case has been lodged.
Investigating into the motive, the police found that Yash and Chirag trained together and competed for almost a decade. Both under the blind category, they were even roommates and Chirag had shared details of his personal account with Yash.
According to findings, it was also found that Chirag had previously lodged a police complaint against Yash, accusing him of tampering with document verification which led to disqualification. The murder could therefore be a revenge for that step.
DCP Dhaval Jaiswal said in a statement, "The motive was professional revenge. Yash Khatik lured Tyagi to an isolated spot and shot him in the back to settle score".
Currently, investigation is underway and police teams are looking for the weapon. Further probe will reveal if there was involvement of others while the police await the post-mortem report.
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