UP Para-Athlete Shot Dead Days After Qualifying For Asian Games, Rival Arrested

A 25-year-old national-level para athlete was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad by his fellow competitor, just a few days after qualifying for the Para Asian Games - scheduled to be held in Japan this October.

Chirag Tyagi was counted among the nation's most promising emerging para-athletes who had recently won a gold medal in the 400-meter race at the National Para Athletics Championship held in Bengaluru. On Wednesday morning, Tyagi had called his family informing them that he would be reaching home by 3:30 pm, his uncle, Rajesh Tyagi, told NDTV.

Shortly after that call, his mobile phone went off.

As the family members grew anxious, they filed a police complaint.

On Saturday afternoon, cops found his body lying in Ghaziabad's Sai Kunj area. Upon the first inspection, it appeared that he had been shot dead.

Based on CCTV footage, cops detained Yash Khatik - who is also a para athlete.

According to the police, Khatik had previously trained alongside Tyagi, and they had competed against each other in athletics under the 'blind' category. For nearly a decade, they shared everything - lived in the same room, and pushed each other during grueling training sessions over the last five years. Chirag trusted Yash implicitly, even sharing his personal account details with him.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Tyagi had earlier filed a complaint against Khatik regarding the verification of his documents, which resulted in his disqualification. Likely driven by a motive of revenge, Khatik shot his rival using a pistol.

"The motive was professional revenge. Yash Khatik lured Tyagi to an isolated spot and shot him in the back to settle score," DCP Dhaval Jaiswal said.

Subsequently, Katik was arrested and a case has been filed against him.

Police teams have been dispatched to recover the weapon, officials said.

Investigations are also underway to determine if any other people were involved in this incident.

The exact cause of death and the specific method of killing are expected to become clearer following the receipt of the post-mortem report, officials added.