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Delhi coaching centre owner killed by former student due to love triangle, say police
The victim Ankit Kumar’s family identified the suspect as one of his former students from the CCTV footage shown to them by Delhi Police.
Police have arrested a 21-year-old student of Delhi Technological University for the murder of a coaching centre owner in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri earlier this week. Police claimed the murder was the result of a love triangle between two men and a 21-year-old woman.
Ankit Kumar (31) was shot dead at point blank range by a masked man in front of his students at the Jahangirpuri coaching centre on Monday. Police said that their initial probe revealed the possible role of many suspects in the crime, including that of Kumar’s 31-year-old girlfriend.
On Thursday, Kumar’s family was shown the CCTV footage that had captured the gunman fleeing from the crime spot. They then identified the suspect as one Akash Kashyap, who was a former student of Kumar. Police said that the CCTV showed Kashyap wearing a cap and a black shirt while fleeing. Kashyap had covered his face with a black mask (commonly used against pollution).
“With the help of the family members, records of the tuition centre were checked and details of Kashyap obtained. A police team raided his house in J Block Jahangirpuri and arrested Kashyap on Thursday. He is a fourth year student of B.Tech (computer science) at Delhi Technical University,” said a police officer requesting anonymity. Kashyap’s father owns a shop in Old Delhi.
Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Aslam Khan said that during interrogation, Kashyap confessed that he was friends with a 21-year-old woman, who was earlier in a relationship with Kumar.
“Kashyap said that the 21-year-old woman had broken up with Kumar. Yet, Kumar constantly kept harassing her and pursuing her. Kashyap has told us that when the woman told him about Kumar, he decided to eliminate him. Kashyap confessed that during Holi he had gone to his native village in Baghpat and bought a pistol,” the DCP said.
Police said that around 10am on Monday, Kashyap was waiting for Kumar outside his coaching centre. As soon as Kashyap spotted Kumar, he allegedly grabbed him by his neck and shot him twice in the head in front of two of his students. He then fled.
Police had earlier suspected the role of a woman, who was in a relationship with Kumar for the last 10 days, in the killing.
Kashyap, who lost his mother a few years ago, lived with his father in Jahangirpuri’s A-Block. Till early this year, Ankit and his older brother Jai together ran a coaching centre. But the two brothers split and Jai moved to another home with his wife in April.
“We have come to know about the incident. The student is a day scholar and studies at the computer science department. We are yet to inquire the matter and hence we cannot comment further,” DTU vice chancellor Yogesh Singh said.