New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): A helper on a bus from Madhya Pradesh was shot dead by the conductor in the national capital on Thursday, an official said.

Police said that they have arrested the accused conductor, identified as Amit Pateria, hailing from Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh.

Azad Khan, the bus driver, a resident of Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, was apprehended for attempting to dispose of the crime weapon, a country-made pistol.

According to police, on Thursday, the Sunlight Colony police station received a distress call from the police control room regarding the murder of a bus helper.

Responding to the call, a police team swiftly arrived at the scene, where the caller, Amit, and Azad stated that their helper, Roop Singh Yadav, had been fatally shot while they were en route from Sarai Kale Khan to Kashmere Gate in a bus.

“They also displayed the body of Yadav, found in the driver's cabin of the bus, lying in a pool of blood,” said the official.

During the course of the investigation, it became apparent that both men were frequently altering their accounts of the incident.

Upon thorough interrogation, they disclosed that they had picked up passengers in the bus from Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday and reached Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi at around 6:50 a.m. on Thursday. “Subsequently, after disembarking the passengers and heading toward Kashmere Gate, Delhi, the conductor, Amit Pateria, retrieved a country-made pistol from the driver's cabin and shot Roop Singh Yadav, who ultimately succumbed to his bullet wound and passed away,” the official added.

The driver and Amit then proceeded to the Yamuna Khadar area, where they concealed the aforementioned pistol and made a PCR call. “Consequently, a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered. During the investigation and following the confession, the pistol used in the crime was recovered from the Yamuna Khadar area at the direction of both accused,” he said.