16-year-old employee, 8 others held for ayurveda doctor’s murder in Delhi

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Aslam Khan said the murder was committed by three of the accused after a week-long observation of the doctor, Mukim Ahmad Iqbal. After the murder, the accused persons distributed the loot among themselves and were planning to visit Kashmir and Shimla.

A week after a 57-year-old ayurveda doctor was found murdered at his home in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, police on Monday apprehended a 16-year-old boy, who worked at the doctor’s clinic. Police said the teenager had plotted the murder to rob his employer.

Police said the teenage employee of the ayurveda doctor in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri was aware that the doctor had sold a property to arrange the money for the wedding and that he had kept the cash and jewellery at home. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police have also arrested eight persons, including a married couple, in connection with the murder and for hiding the looted cash and jewellery worth around ₹12 lakh.

Police identified the eight as Rizwan alias Rizu, Vishal Rawat alias Bunty, his parents Sandhya and Raju Rawat, Rizwan alias Nasty, Mohammad Ammar, Riyasat and Afroz. Police said except Bunty’s parents, who are in their mid-40s, the other six are aged between 18 and 21 years.

Police claim that they have recovered about 90% of the looted money and jewellery.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Aslam Khan said the murder was committed by Bunty, Rizu and Nasty after a week-long observation of the doctor, Mukim Ahmad Iqbal. After the murder, the accused persons distributed the loot among themselves and were planning to visit Kashmir and Shimla.

The DCP said the boy was aware that the doctor had sold a property to arrange the money for the wedding and that he had kept the cash and jewellery at home.

“The teenager told his friend Ammar about his robbery plan and the fact that the doctor’s daughter usually left the main gate open for the domestic help while leaving for work every morning. Ammar included Rizu, Nasty and Bunty in the planning,” he said.

On November 12 around 7.30am, the daughter left for work, leaving the main gate open. Bunty, Nasty and Rizu allegedly entered the house and strangled the doctor in his sleep. They stuffed the cash and jewellery in three bags and fled, police said.

Police said a CCTV camera installed at a nearby building captured the three suspects. However, their faces were not clear in the footage. Investigators took the help of informants to identify the suspects.

“Their cellphone locations were found to be near the doctor’s house at the time of the crime. Bunty’s cellphone movement was later tracked to Jharkhand’s Jamtara. Our team caught him from there. His interrogation led to the arrest of the others,” DCP Khan said.

Police said Bunty’s parents hid the cash and jewellery despite knowing that he had obtained it criminally.