3 held for killing 25-year-old man during robbery on Mathura Road

The arrests followed an extensive investigation involving three police teams who scanned footage from nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras to track down the suspects and the scooter they were riding, police said

Three days after a 25-year-old man was found murdered on Mathura Road near the Badarpur bus stop in south Delhi, police on Tuesday said they have arrested three men who allegedly killed him after he resisted a robbery attempt.

The three arrested men were seen confronting Akram and fleeing after a scuffle. The scooter’s non-functional headlight helped identify it, police said. (Representational image)

The arrests followed an extensive investigation involving three police teams who scanned footage from nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras to track down the suspects and the scooter they were riding, police said.

One of the accused, Himanshu, 21, who uses a single name, has previously been involved in six snatching and theft cases. His associates, Mohsin Noor, 20, and Deepak Suryavanshi, 18, were first-time offenders. Noor worked at a hotel in Faridabad for the past eight months, which Himanshu and Suryavanshi frequently visited. The trio had been staying together at a hotel for three days before the murder, consuming drugs and planning a robbery, said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Hemant Tiwari.

Around 5.51am on July 26, Badarpur police received information about an unidentified man found bleeding on Mathura Road near the bus stop. He was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors declared him brought dead. Bloodstains were also found on the footpath and in a lane below the flyover near Pillar Number 30. A stab wound to the chest indicated he had been murdered, Tiwari said.

The victim was identified as Makbul Akram, a resident of Mithapur Extension and originally from West Champaran in Bihar. His family told police he had last spoken to them around 10pm on July 25. His phone was missing, suggesting it may have been stolen by the attackers. A case of murder was registered, and the investigation was assigned to the district’s special staff, anti-snatching, and anti-auto theft squads.

Investigators combed through CCTV footage across Delhi and Faridabad and found one video showing three men on a scooter conducting multiple recces of the victim on the night of July 25. They were later seen confronting Akram and fleeing after a scuffle. The scooter’s non-functional headlight helped identify it.

“Using our human intelligence network, we traced one of the suspects, Mohsin Noor, to a hotel in Basantpur, Faridabad. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and revealed the identities of his two associates,” Tiwari said.

Police subsequently arrested Himanshu and Suryavanshi. Akram’s stolen phone, the scooter, and the knife used in the attack were also recovered.