Soldier, on leave to testify in murder case, shot dead in UP's Saharanpur

The family says he was the key witness in the murder of his cousin Rajat, who was stabbed to death four years ago. 

An Army soldier, on leave to testify in a murder case, was allegedly shot dead in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as 27-year-old Vikrant Gurjar. A resident of Mudikhedi village here, he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. Vikrant came home on Tuesday on a four-day leave to testify in the case, they said.

The alleged murder happened between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.  According to Vikrant's family, he went out for a walk after dinner, but when he did not return, they tried to contact him over the phone. However, his phone was found switched off.

Early Thursday morning, some villagers contacted the family after finding his body near a road with gunshot wounds to his head and chest, Sagar Jain, Superintendent of Police (Rural), told PTI.  The family says he was the key witness in the murder of his cousin Rajat, who was stabbed to death four years ago.

Police have yet to receive a formal complaint in the matter, but they have sent the body for post-mortem.  Besides, senior officers are present in the village and have deployed an additional police force to check for any untoward incident, Jain added.