A 24-year-old farmer and property dealer from Hapur district was allegedly abducted and murdered, with his bullet-riddled body found inside his SUV near the Kali underpass on the Meerut-Bulandshahr highway late Monday night, police said. The victim’s wife accused two men, including a district-level political leader, of involvement in the killing, they added.File photo of the deceased, Tushar Tyagi, 24. (Sourced)According to officials, the deceased, identified as Tushar Tyagi, a resident of Doyami village in Hapur, sustained three gunshot wounds to the head. His body was found on the driver’s seat of his Scorpio, which was parked on a service road beneath the Kali overbridge.Tushar’s wife, Shikha Tyagi, told police that her husband left home around 8 pm on Monday after taking food for a friend. About an hour later, she received a WhatsApp call from Tushar’s number. During the call, she was allegedly informed that Bittu Tyagi, district president of the Rashtrawadi Nav Nirman Dal in Hapur, and his associates were taking Tushar to a forested area and threatening to kill him. Soon afterwards, both of Tushar’s mobile phones were switched off, police said.Alarmed by the information, family members and friends began searching for him. In the meantime, Tushar’s friend Krish reportedly received a call from Bittu Tyagi, who allegedly informed him that Tushar had been shot and that his vehicle was parked on the service road beneath the Kali overbridge. The caller allegedly switched off his phone after sharing the information.The family alerted the police control room and rushed to the spot along with police personnel. On reaching the location, they found Tushar lying in a pool of blood on the driver’s seat of his SUV. He was taken to NCR Medical College, where doctors declared him dead, officials said.Shikha alleged that her husband had recently been involved in a dispute with Tarun Tyagi, son of Mukesh Tyagi and a resident of the same village. She claimed that during the altercation, Tarun had threatened to kill Tushar with his licensed revolver.According to the family, the dispute was later settled at Bittu Tyagi’s residence. Investigators are now examining whether the earlier conflict was linked to the murder.Following the incident, Meerut (rural) superintendent of police Abhijeet Kumar visited the crime scene and reviewed the investigation. Police seized the SUV and sent the body for the post-mortem examination.Police said Bittu Tyagi and another individual had been taken into custody for questioning. Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s wife, an FIR has been registered against Bittu Tyagi and Tarun Tyagi.The SP said further investigation was underway and that all angles, including the victim’s previous dispute and the circumstances surrounding the alleged abduction, were being examined.Tushar Tyagi was engaged in farming and also worked as a property dealer.The incident also triggered political reactions, with the Uttar Pradesh Congress alleging a deterioration in law and order under the state government.In a post on X, the party claimed that Tushar had been abducted before being shot dead and questioned when citizens would get relief from what it described as “criminal rule”.