New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Police have arrested three men for allegedly killing a 20-year-old woman who was a key eyewitness in a murder case. They feared that she might turn hostile, officials said Monday.

The incident occurred on the night of April 14 when Rizwan (20) shot dead Sayara alias Parveen in North-East Delhi's GTB Enclave area. During the initial interrogation, he tried to mislead the police by telling them that he had killed her for talking to some other boy, police said.

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However, he later confessed that Sayara's murder was part of a conspiracy hatched by Kishan Kumar (39) and Firoz Khan (22). Kishan Kumar, previously involved in three criminal cases, is a relative of Rahul who was murdered in Sunder Nagri four months ago, a senior police officer said.

A police source said Rahul was killed while trying to rescue Sayara who allegedly was being beaten up by four men.

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"Rahul saw the incident and objected to it. However, an altercation broke out and he was killed. Kishan felt that Sayara was the reason behind Rahul's death. He also felt that killing her would establish his dominance in the area,” the source said.

He feared that Sayara, who was a key witness, might turn hostile or weaken the case as she had become friendly with the accused in Rahul's case. Following this, Kishan and Firoz planned to eliminate her, police said.

To bring the plan to fruition, Kishan gave Rizwan Rs 15,000 to befriend Sayara. He also gave him a pistol and four bullets and promised Rs 1 lakh for killing her, the officer said.

While Rizwan was arrested on Thursday last week, Kishan and Firoz were arrested on Sunday, the officer added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)