Police said an employee of the businessman Raj Bahadur Singh (35) was initially involved in an altercation with the former pradhan Bijendra Singh for not giving way to his car soon enough.

According to the police, a company tempo got stuck on a narrow stretch of the road. “Singh was going down the same road on his Honda city to a wedding ceremony in Modinagar,” said Anant Dev, S P (City), Ghaziabad. Despite repeated honking the tempo did not allow him to pass. Upon finally overtaking the tempo, Bijendra forced the driver to stop, pulled him out and beat him up. He also snatched the tempo’s ignition key.

“The driver then called up Raj Bahadur for help, who reached the spot and got into an argument with Singh,” added the police official.

Raj Bahadur then took out his licensed pistol and brandished it to scare Bijendra, who responded by shooting him with his own licensed pistol. Raj Bahadur was rushed to Narinder Mohan Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The police have registered a case against four persons, including Bijendra Singh, who is absconding since the incident. A manhunt has been launched to nab the accused.

Others who have been named in the case are Vijendra, Yogendra, Brahm Singh and Gajendra of the same village. Raj Bahadur was a resident of Lajpat Nagar area of Sahibabad.