‘Missing’ man found dead near Shankar Road, 5 nabbed

Police identified the body as that of Vikas (single name). He lived with his family members near Kali Bari in Mandir Marg area. Vikas’s father is a government employee.

The decomposed body of a 23-year-old man, who was reported missing five days ago from central Delhi’s Mandir Marg area, was found in the ridge area near Shankar Road on Wednesday.

Vikas was undergoing drug de-addiction treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, the police said.(HT image)

Police said the man was apparently kidnapped and murdered by six homeless men who wanted to take revenge from him for assaulting one of them last week. Five suspects have been apprehended while police have launched a manhunt for a sixth man. Some of the apprehended suspects may turn out to be juveniles, police said.

Police identified the body as that of Vikas (single name). He lived with his family members near Kali Bari in Mandir Marg area. Vikas’s father is a government employee. Vikas was undergoing drug de-addiction treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, the police said.

Vikas’s mother, Lalita (single name), approached the Mandir Marg police station on the night of September 7 and filed a missing complaint. She told police that Vikas was missing since morning and his mobile phone was unreachable. A case of kidnapping was registered and a probe launched. Several teams were formed to find the missing man.

During the probe, an investigator said, police found that Vikas and his friends had allegedly beaten up a homeless man near the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara following an altercation over some issue on September 6. Police identified Vikas’ friends, who were with him at the time of the fight. Their statement were recorded and they were taken to the place where the fight had taken place. None of them, however, knew the man they had beaten up.

According to the officer, local enquiry helped them identify a homeless man, Yogesh alias Makdi, who was often seen near the Gurudwara. Yogesh was missing and his current whereabouts were not known.

“We activated our human intelligence network and it helped us nab Yogesh from Mandir Marg area on Wednesday. His interrogation led to the apprehension of four others. One suspect is still absconding,” the officer said.

During the interrogation, the officer said, Yogesh disclosed that he was enraged after being beaten up by Vikas and his friends. He told his friends about the incident and they decided to take revenge from Vikas. Since they knew where Vikas lived, the six men gathered outside his home and waited for him.

“Three of them overpowered Vikas once they spotted him alone on the road. They bundled him in an autorickshaw and took him to wooded area near Shankar Road. There they attacked him with sticks and wire till he died,” the officer said.

Police said that the five suspects took them to the crime scene from where Vikas’s decomposed body was recovered on Wednesday.