3 held for murdering man to avenge two-year-old incident

The Delhi Police on Monday said they had arrested three men for allegedly murdering a 34-year-old man whose body, bearing multiple stab wounds, was recovered from the Yamuna floodplains near Jagatpur Pusta Road in north Delhi’s Wazirabad on May 21

The Delhi Police on Monday said they had arrested three men for allegedly murdering a 34-year-old man whose body, bearing multiple stab wounds, was recovered from the Yamuna floodplains near Jagatpur Pusta Road in north Delhi’s Wazirabad on May 21.

Police said the victim’s face was disfigured due to the injuries, but two names and a symbol tattooed on his hand helped investigators identify him (Photo for representation)

The three arrested men were identified as Tarun alias Tanni from Delhi’s Nehru Vihar, Dheeraj, 32, a resident of Sangam Vihar in Delhi, and Sunny Mahajan, 19, from Amritsar in Punjab.

Police said the accused allegedly killed the man, identified as Chandan Saini, to avenge an attack two years ago in which he had stabbed and injured Tarun. They also alleged that Saini frequently abused Tarun and his associates.

Police further alleged that Saini and his accomplices had quarrelled with Tarun’s brother and attempted to abduct him two days before the murder, deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia said.

Police said Tarun drives an auto-rickshaw for a living, while Dheeraj and Mahajan are unemployed. Dheeraj was previously involved in two burglary cases. Police said Saini was also named in five cases of snatching, burglary and theft.

“The victim’s photograph was circulated in nearby localities and, with the help of the tattoo, he was identified as Chandan Saini. A case of murder was registered and, during the investigation, three suspects were identified through local inquiry and technical surveillance. They were arrested from Delhi on Sunday,” Banthia said.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly told investigators that they fled Delhi after the murder and hid in Maharashtra, Punjab, Jammu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh before returning to the city around 10 days before their arrest. They allegedly lured Saini to the Yamuna floodplains in Tarun’s rented auto-rickshaw on the pretext of drinking liquor before stabbing him to death, Banthia said, adding that the auto-rickshaw used in the crime had also been recovered.