The investigation into the murder of a TCS software engineer in Noida's Sector 76 has led police to probe the involvement of a jilted lover of the deceased's wife. Identified as Ankit Chauhan (27), the software engineer was shot dead by two unidentified assailants on Monday evening while he was travelling in his SUV car with a friend who was left unhurt in the shooting.

Chauhan was on his way back home after meeting his wife, Amisha at her office in Sector 135 in Noida. The couple were married three months back, and the wife also a software engineer is employed with Accenture.

On Monday evening, both Chauhan and his friend, Gagan Duhoria (also a software engineer) were on route to the deceased's home when they noticed a car following them. As soon as Chauhan realised that he was being followed he had sent a message to his friends with the number of the car following him and had asked for help.

The assailants meanwhile overtook the Chauhan's SUV car and fired at the windscreen. The accused then fired again which resulted in Chauhan loosing control of his vehicle and hitting a tree. One of the assailants then got out of his car and shot the 27-year-old in the neck before fleeing from the scene of crime. Duhoria was left unhurt in the shooting and was the one who helped police recreate the sequence of events. While investigating officials told dna that Duhoria was 'cooperating' in the investigation, they did not confirm or deny whether he is a suspect in the murder. "He(Duhoria) said that he was crying out for help when the assailants attacked Chauhan. Initial investigations strongly suggest that the culprits had only one target," the investigating official said.

Further, investigating officials also confirmed that the background check for the number provided by Chauhan to his friends has been futile as the number plate was fake."The fake number plate indicates that the murder was a very well coordinated and a planned one," a senior police officer said.

The officer further said that a total of five police teams have been constituted to probe the case following the latest development and have questioned the friend, victim's wife, his family and acquaintances.

"There are a few angles which we are probing. One can be a personal rivalry within the family," the police officer told dna ruling out 'monetary gains' as a motive behind the crime. The officer said that the initial investigation suggest that those who carried out the attacks had been keeping a close tab of the movements of the deceased and had planned the murder weeks ahead.

"The other angle we are probing is the involvement of a jilted lover of the wife. We have been questioning everyone related to the victim and will soon arrive to something conclusive," said the officer.