The owner of a four-star hotel in the city and six others were arrested today in connection with the murder of a 57-year-old estate officer of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), a day before he was scheduled to pass the final order in a case related to the hotel's lease. The deceased, Mohammed Moin Khan, was a lawyer and an assistant legal advisor with the NDMC. The concerned hotel 'The Connaught' was functioning on a property leased by the civic body. NDMC had sealed the property last year after the hotel authorities failed to abide by the eviction order following expiry of the lease. The other party had then taken the matter to the court, police said. On the direction of the High Court, Khan was made the Estate Officer and he was to pass the final order in the lease matter on May 17. "Apprehending an unfavourable order, which would have resulted in huge monetary loss and eviction from the property, the hotel owner, Ramesh Kakkar, hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Khan, who was known to be straight and fair in his job," Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order/South) P Kamaraj said. Khan's family claimed that there was tremendous pressure on Khan from his seniors to waive the penalty of around Rs 140 crore imposed on the hotel for violation of license term, a matter which is still being probed by the police. To execute the plan, Kakkar (48) contacted Ram Phool (46), his body guard, and one Israil (31).