Delhi: Man stabbed with broken bottles, 4 held

On the basis of local intelligence and a tatoo on the forearm of the dead person, the police identified the deceased man as Bunty (known by his first name), a resident of Najafgarh

Four people murdered their 23-year-old friend on Saturday by smashing his head with rocks, stabbed him with broken beer bottles and disfigured his face in outer Delhi’s Mitraon village, the police said on Tuesday after arresting the suspects.

According to police informers, Bunty had gone to drink with his four friends on the day he was murdered. He was killed because he was in a relationship with one of the suspects’ sister, which the latter did not approve of.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, special commissioner of police (crime branch), said the Baba Haridas Nagar police station was informed on Saturday about a person found injured and unconscious in the agricultural fields in Mitraon village. “The local police reached the spot and took the injured person to Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. There were multiple injuries on his head and his face was smashed with some heavy object. Since the deceased could not be identified at that moment, a murder case was registered at Baba Haridas Nagar police station against unknown persons.. Empty liquor bottles, glasses, stones, iron rods and some medicines were found at the crime scene,” Yadav said.

Investigators checked footage from the CCTVs installed near the crime scene and other surrounding localities, the special commissioner said. A CCTV video showed the person with four others. He was also spotted at a liquor shop near Dhansa bus stand. On the basis of local intelligence and a tatoo on the forearm of the dead person, the police identified him as Bunty (known by his first name), a resident of Najafgarh, he said.

Yadav said when the police checked if Bunty had any crime record, it was found that the was involved in cases of theft. “His dossier also helped the police establish his identity,” he said. According to police informers, Bunty had gone to drink with his four friends on the day he was murdered. On the basis of phone locations, the police found that Bunty was with Himanshu Dagar (20), Dheeraj Toor (21), Anshul Antil (20) and Sahil Kumar (21) before he was found dead in the fields, the special commissioner said.

The four were arrested on Tuesday from Garh Ganga area in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Elaborating on the motive of the murder, Yadav said that Bunty was in a relationship with Dagar’s sister. Dagar did not approve of their relationship and was looking to take revenge.

“Dagar had strong objections to their relationship, and he planned Bunty’s murder with the other three accused. Around 7.30pm on Saturday, the four suspects called Bunty using the phone of a local Mitraon tea stall owner. They took him for drinking in the fields. After having some drinks, the four smashed Bunty’s head with a heavy stone and stabbed him broken beer bottles. They also disfigured his face to hide his identity,” Yadav said.

Among the four suspects, Toor was found to be involved in two cases of criminal conspiracy, the added. The others do not have a criminal record.