Delhi man stabs neighbour to death over suspicions of ‘black magic’

The murderer and the victim were neighbours in Surhera village of Jaffarpur Kalan, a neighbourhood adjacent to west Delhi’s Dwarka

An employed man in Delhi’s Jaffarpur Kalan on Monday stabbed his neighbour to death suspecting the victim of performing ‘black magic’ on him, the Delhi Police said on Tuesday. The attacker also injured another person, who had intervened, with the same murder weapon.

Representational image.

“The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Vinod, was arrested within hours of the murder,” deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) M Harsha Vardhan said.

Vinod and the victim, 47-year-old Sunil, were neighbours in Surhera village of Jaffarpur Kalan, a neighbourhood adjacent to west Delhi’s Dwarka. The victim was a farmer.

“A week ago, they quarreled over open defecation in Sunil’s farmland,” the DCP said.

The confrontations continued until Monday when the two again got into a fight, and this time Vinod allegedly used a kitchen knife to stab Sunil to death.

“Another neighbour, Rajpal, tried to intervene and save Sunil, but he too sustained stab injuries,” the DCP said.

Rajpal, 58, is undergoing treatment at a hospital and is recovering.

The police have registered a case of murder and attempt to murder, and are questioning Vinod to understand what led him to suspect the victim of performing ‘black magic’.