19-year-old man on run for three months for murder arrested in Gurugram

A 19-year-old man, Mohammad Mukhtar, was arrested in Gurugram for killing his friend Mithilesh Sahay after three months on the run.

A 19-year-old man who was on the run for three months after killing his friend was arrested in Gurugram Sector 29 on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.

Mohammad Mukhtar after his arrest. (HT Photo)

The arrested suspect was identified as Mohammad Mukhtar, of Forbesganj, Araria, Bihar. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Mithilesh Sahay, of Sahaspur in Madhubani, Bihar. The two lived on rent in DLF Phase 1 and worked at construction sites.

Investigators said that the murder took place in a park near Chakkarpur in Sector 28 on the night of May 13.

Varun Kumar Dahiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the victim was in an extremely intoxicated state after consuming liquor and asked the suspect to take him home, but the latter refused. “Sahay hurled abuses at Mukhtar which resulted in a heated argument between them. Sahay slapped Mukhtar and a scuffle broke out. Mukhtar, in a fit of rage, tightened the handkerchief which was wrapped on Sahay’s neck from behind, strangling him to death,” Dahiya said.

Mukhtar picked up the victim’s belongings and fled from the spot, police said. When the victim’s body was found, his identity could not be ascertained until a week later when his father lodged a missing complaint at DLF Phase 1 police station.

“The Gurugram police commissioner, Vikas Kumar Arora, declared a reward of ₹20,000 for clues leading to the suspect’s capture,” he said.

A week ago, the DLF Phase 4 crime branch team got a clue with the help of detailed technical investigation and human intelligence. “After developing the clue, we reached a suspect and detained him for questioning from Sector 29 after which he confessed to killing Sahay,” he said.

Investigators said that Mukhtar had kept changing his phone number and location by fleeing to Bihar, Chandigarh and Delhi while working at various construction sites to avoid getting caught. He was on one-day police remand for detailed interrogation and attempts were also on to recover the victim’s phone and SIM card which the suspect had disposed of, said police.