Four held for slitting throat of e-rickshaw mechanic in front of his nephew

The arrested men were identified by their single names as Rajan,28, his brother Sanaj,20, and their friends Sachin,20 and Akash,18. Explaining the motive for the murder, police said the two brothers bore a grudge against mechanic Faizan Mohammad .

A 23-year-old e-rickshaw mechanic was killed allegedly by four men, in front of his nephew at his shop in north-west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri late Wednesday night. The four men were arrested on Thursday and police said they are neighbours of the slain man.

Mohammad’s family said they were unaware of the altercation or the motive for the murder. They alleged that Mohammad was stabbed 17 times with eight knives. (HT Archives. Representative image)

The arrested men were identified by their single names as Rajan,28, his brother Sanaj,20, and their friends Sachin,20 and Akash,18. Explaining the motive for the murder, police said the two brothers bore a grudge against mechanic Faizan Mohammad .

Deputy commissioner of police (north-west) Vijayanta Arya said about a fortnight ago, Mohammad had allegedly had made indecent remarks about the brothers following an argument that took place while they were all drinking together.

Mohammad’s family said they were unaware of the altercation or the motive for the murder. They alleged that Mohammad was stabbed 17 times with eight knives. The police, however, said apart from his throat being slit, Mohammad had sustained two stab wounds on the hand and back.

Mohammad’s brother Qadir said their nephew, Iqbal, and two other employees were present at the e-rickshaw workshop when the murder took place. While the two staffers were asleep, Mohammad and Iqbal were installing a music system on an e-rickshaw when the four men lifted the iron shutter and entered the shop.

“The four men greeted my brother and nephew and then got into an argument with them. One of them slapped Mohammad and he fell on the floor. When Iqbal tried to help him up, two of the attackers overpowered him. One of the two smothered Iqbal while the other pointed a knife at him and threatened to kill him if he raised the alarm. The other two men then stabbed and killed Mohammad,” Qadir said.

According to Qadir, Iqbal managed to free himself and fled from the shop. He informed his parents about the attack and also alerted the police. But by the time the family could reach the shop, the attackers had fled, Qadir said.

DCP Arya said during the probe, the involvement of Mohammad’s four neighbours emerged. “Our teams raided their hideouts and arrested all four of them within six hours of the murder. The knife used in the crime was also recovered from them,” she said.