Trio held for robbery-murder in east Delhi

Delhi Police arrested three suspects in two stabbing incidents linked to attempted robberies, one resulting in death, after analyzing CCTV footage.

New Delhi

Two stolen phones and a knife used in the crime were recovered. Police identified the accused as Sahil, 18, Ansh, 19, and Vipin, 21. (Representative photo)

The Delhi Police arrested three people for two back-to-back stabbing incidents—one of them resulted in a fatality—that took place during attempted robberies at Pandav Nagar and Patparganj industrial area within an hour and a half of each other on Wednesday night, police said on Friday.

Two stolen phones and a knife used in the crime were recovered. Police identified the accused as Sahil, 18, Ansh, 19, and Vipin, 21.

“Over 200 CCTV cameras were scanned to identify the suspects and solve the blind fatal and near-fatal stabbing cases. Through CCTV footage, investigators prepared a detailed route map of the suspects’ movement on Wednesday night that eventually helped us establish that both crimes were committed by the same group of robbers,” additional commissioner of police (east) Abhishek Dhania said.

Around 9.30pm on Wednesday, the Patparganj industrial area police station was apprised about a stabbing incident near Utsav Ground Park. A police team rushed the injured man to a nearby hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. He was identified as Mohit Sharma, a 28-year-old resident of Ghazipur. A case of attempt to murder was registered and investigation was taken up, said Dhania.

Around 8am on Thursday, the Pandav Nagar police station was informed about the body of a man with multiple stab wounds lying in the forested area inside Sanjay Lake Park. The deceased was identified as Lukku Choudhary alias Vikram, a 36-year-old resident of the Shashi Garden. A case of murder was registered and east district police’s special staff team was roped in to probe it.

“As the exact time of Chaudhary’s murder was initially unclear, inspector Jitender Malik and his team members first established the ‘last seen alive’ timing of the deceased, which was around 7pm on Wednesday. More than 14 hours of CCTV footage from the surrounding areas, including entry and exit points of Sanjay Lake Park, were analysed. As the victim’s mobile phone was missing, its last location and movement pattern were also examined,” said Dhania.

Through technical investigation, the suspects were identified and arrested on Thursday from Kalyanpuri and Trilokpuri.

“The accused operated as a group and targeted individuals in isolated areas during evening and night hours. They selected vulnerable victims, assaulted them with sharp weapons, and robbed them of mobile phones and other valuables. The assaults were brutal in nature, resulting in grievous injuries to Sharma and death of Chaudhary,” he said.