Meerut, Nov. 5 -- Five people were arrested following two police encounters on Monday night for the alleged contract killing of a 24-year-old man in Muzaffarnagar's Kheri Firozabad area on November 1, police said. The murder of Saurabh Singh alias Sonu, who hailed from the village under Kakrauli police station limits, was orchestrated by the father of a woman with whom Sonu had links. The father, with the help of his son and associates, paid the key accused, Danish, Rs.1 lakh to eliminate Sonu, the police added. According to police, the girl's father, Mehrban alias Veer Singh, planned the killing to protect his family's "honour and social reputation". Danish, Veer Singh and three others were injured in the two encounters. Officers recovered one pistol, four country-made weapons, five mobile phones, and a motorcycle from their possession. Later, two more suspects were arrested in connection with the incident. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sanjay Kumar Verma said that multiple police teams were formed to investigate the murder. On Monday night, the police received information that suspects were standing near the Malikpura Rajbaha culvert. SSP Verma said during interrogation that Mehrban confessed to plotting Sonu's murder on November 1 due to his alleged affair with his daughter. Sonu was first stabbed in the neck and dragged into a field. There, the attackers shot Sonu's hand while trying to kill him. They then stabbed him multiple times, killing him on the spot, police added. htc...