GHAZIABAD: A 25-year-old youth was allegedly shot dead by two men in Ghaziabad after he refused to give them a cigarette, police said on Monday. The two allegedly responsible for the killing were nabbed confessed to having shot the youth, identified as Nirmal, police said.

The incident took place on July 1 in the Siyani Gate area when Nirmal refused to give a cigarette to Pradeep Kumar and Rahul, both drug addicts. “Pradeep and Rahul were going to Ghaziabad and, on the way, saw Nirmal and asked him to give them a cigarette. As Nirmal didn’t have any cigarettes, he told the two accused that he could not give them any,” said a senior police officer, adding Nirmal’s response angered the duo and Pradeep then shot Nirmal with a country-made pistol.

The accused fled the spot while Nirmal was rushed to a local hospital by passersby, where doctors declared him dead.

“Acting on a tip-off, we laid a trap and arrested Pradeep and Rahul this afternoon and recovered a country-made pistol, which is likely to be the murder weapon, and four cartridges from their possession,” the officer added.