Delhi Police said they have arrested a 23-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of 26-year-oldTarun Butolia who was killed in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar in March this year.
Special commissioner of police (crime) HGS Dhaliwal said the accused has been identified as Sohail, a resident of JJ Colony in Uttam Nagar. He was declared proclaimed offender by a Dwarka court on July 31, police said, adding that he was wanted in the murder case under provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police said Sohail was among the mob who allegedly attacked Butolia with sticks, bats and rods on March 4. The victim was later rushed to the hospital, where he died.
On March 4, a minor from Butolia’s family was playing Holi when a coloured water balloon fell on a woman. Police said the dispute started when water splashed on her clothes. Delhi Police, in a charge sheet submitted in May, had stated that caste-based abuse escalated the fight that ended in the murder. Police had named 18 persons as accused in the case and also accused them of being involved in an unlawful assembly.
According to officers involved in the arrest, Sohail had fled Delhi after learning about Butolia’s death and stayed at different locations to evade arrest. He was apprehended by a crime branch team on August 8 from near Palam flyover after police received a tip-off.
{{/usCountry}}According to officers involved in the arrest, Sohail had fled Delhi after learning about Butolia’s death and stayed at different locations to evade arrest. He was apprehended by a crime branch team on August 8 from near Palam flyover after police received a tip-off.
{{/usCountry}}“He was apprehended from the road leading from Palam towards Dabri at around 9.15pm on August 8. His identity and involvement in the case were verified through records at Uttam Nagar police station and was then formally arrested at around 11.20pm the same day,” a senior police officer said.
During interrogation, Sohail allegedly told police that there had been previous disputes and enmity between his and Butolia’s family. He told police that on March 4, following a quarrel, he and others attacked Butolia and some other people with sticks and iron rods, officers said.
After fleeing, Sohail left Delhi and returned recently to meet his family. He was planning to go to Nepal when he was arrested, police said.
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