India, June 21 -- The police have cracked the murder case of a 20-year-old youth with the arrest of his cousin within 24 hours of the crime.

Aryan, a resident of Sehwan village in the district, was shot dead on Garhshankar-Nangal road on Wednesday night.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Malik said accused Naveen Kumar of Kokowal village had concocted the story that when he and Aryan were coming from Ludhiana after buying stuff for the latter's new garments shop, unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants shot him dead.

"The police suspected his version right from the word go. When we questioned him in detail, he confessed to having killed his cousin as he feared that if Aryan opened a new shop near his establishment in...