Afghan man in Delhi for father’s treatment stabbed to death, police clueless about motive

Police have ruled out the murder being a hate crime or robbery as one of the possible reasons behind the murder of the man, Mohammad Ishaq.

A 38-year-old Afghan man, who was in Delhi for the treatment of his father who is suffering from cancer, was stabbed to death at his rented accommodation in Bhogal on Saturday night, police said.

The victim’s body was found lying on the mattress inside the house. There were multiple stab wounds on his chest and abdomen.(AFP File)

Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (south-east), ruled out robbery as one of the possible reasons behind the murder of the man, Mohammad Ishaq.

“The entry to the house was friendly. The house was not ransacked and there wasn’t much with him to be robbed,” the DCP claimed. Ishaq’s mobile phone and a few thousand rupees in cash remained untouched, police said. A post-mortem examination of the body is yet to be done.

The DCP also ruled out the possibility of it being a hate crime.

“Many people from Afghanistan live in the same neighbourhood and haven’t complained about any problems with the local residents. The man was in Delhi for just about a week,” said the DCP.

Ishaq arrived in Delhi with his parents on December 29 and had taken a flat on rent in Bhogal E-block that falls under the jurisdiction of Hazrat Naizamuddin police station.

His father was undergoing treatment at a government cancer hospital in Delhi. On Saturday, Ishaq’s parents left for the hospital around 8am while he stayed back, said the DCP.

The murder came to light when the couple returned home around 7.15pm to find the doors of the flat opened.

Ishaq’s body was found lying on the mattress inside the house. There were multiple stab wounds on his chest and abdomen, but the exact number of stabs would be known only after the post-mortem, police said.

The police registered a murder case and informed the Embassy of Afghanistan.

The DCP said that no clues about any personal enmity have emerged so far, leaving the investigators in the dark.

The building where the flat is located is not covered by CCTV cameras and the police are scanning footage from the lanes leading to the house for any clues.