2 pavement dwellers beaten to death near Model Town in Delhi

Delhi Police arrested Vijay Shah, 25, for allegedly murdering two men over a matchbox dispute in Gujranwala Town on April 7-8.

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested a 25-year-old man after he allegedly murdered two men near Model Town last week, officers said.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Bhisham Singh said on the morning of April 8, the Model Town police station received a call about a man’s body being found on the footpath near the Kripal Bagh Ashram. (Representational image)

Police said the incident occurred on the intervening night of April 7 and 8, when accused Vijay Shah alias Babu had an altercation with two pavement dwellers at Gujranwala Town after they refused to share their matchbox with him. Officers, quoting an eyewitness, said Shah picked up a concrete brick and beat the two men to death.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Bhisham Singh said on the morning of April 8, the Model Town police station received a call about a man’s body being found on the footpath near the Kripal Bagh Ashram. At the same time, another man’s body was found near Parade Ground, just across the road. The two bodies were taken to hospital, and both were declared brought dead, police said.

One of the deceased was later identified as Satish alias Kalu, 45. The other deceased is yet to be identified.

Police said they initially suspected the deaths were a result of a vehicular accident, but conducted a local inquiry and activated their human intelligence network to identify the dead men. On Thursday, officers said, they found a 17-year-old boy who had witnessed the crime.

Based on the teen’s testimony, as well as CCTV cameras installed around the crime scene, police conducted raids and nabbed Shah from the Model Town area on Sunday. He was formally arrested on Monday, police said.

DCP Singh said Shah’s interrogation revealed that he first killed Satish in a fit of rage following an altercation over a matchbox. “Shah disclosed that Satish grabbed him by his neck and tried to throttle him. Shah picked up a concrete brick from the footpath and hit Satish on his head, killing him on the spot. Some other pavement dwellers witnessed the fight and started walking away. Shah followed them and killed one, suspecting him to be Satish’s associate,” the DCP said.