Released on parole during Covid-19 lockdown, murder convict kills another man

Police said Vishwajeet was among the 4000 inmates who were released from various jails (on special parole) as a step to decongest them in the city as the Covid-19 pandemic peaked.

A 42-year-old man, who was sentenced to life in jail for a murder but granted parole in April this year during the government’s bid to decongest jails owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, was rearrested on Tuesday morning for allegedly killing a 25-year-old after a gambling dispute.

The incident took place in south Delhi’s Tughlakabad village in the early hours of Tuesday, police said while identifying the suspect as Vishwajeet alias Chacha. (HT file photo)

The incident took place in south Delhi’s Tughlakabad village in the early hours of Tuesday, police said while identifying the suspect as Vishwajeet alias Chacha.

Police said Vishwajeet was among the 4000 inmates who were released from various jails (on special parole) as a step to decongest them in the city as the Covid-19 pandemic peaked. Vishwajeet was rearrested on Tuesday along with the knife allegedly used in the crime. A case of murder was registered against him at the Govindpuri police station, with police claiming that the suspect being previously involved in six cases of dacoity and for crimes under the Arms act, apart from having served time in jail for a decade-old murder in Chittaranjan Park.

Police officials associated with the probe said that Tuesday’s murder took place around 3am over Rs 70,000 that the victim, Vicky Gupta, won while gambling (playing cards) with his brother Kuldeep Gupta, Vishwajeet, and their friend Raja near a forested area in Tughlakabad village.

“Vishwajeet accused Vicky of cheating during the game and demanded the money that he had lost back. An argument ensued and Vishwajeet took out a knife, stabbed Vicky in his chest in a fit of rage and fled,” a senior police officer associated with the case said.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Kumar Gyanesh said the murder came to their notice around 5 am on Tuesday, after Kuldeep informed the police about it.

“The injured man was rushed to Safdarjung hospital by his brother where he was declared brought dead,” said Gyanesh, adding that a murder case was registered on the statement of prime witness Kuldeep, who is an auto rickshaw driver by profession.

As Vishwajeet was absconding, teams from Govindpuri police station conducted raids. “We caught Vishwajeet in the evening from one of his hideouts in Govindpuri. The murder weapon, a knife, was also seized from him,” the officer said.

During the probe, an investigator who wished not to be identified said, Vishwajeet’s antecedents were verified and it was learnt that he had committed a murder around a decade ago in Chittaranjan Park and was convicted for life in that case.

“In April, he came out of jail after being granted parole following the step by the government to contain the cases of Covid-19 in jails. Like other prisoners who got paroles under similar circumstances, Vishwajeet’s conditional freedom was also being extended,” added the investigator.

After coming out of jail, Vishwajeet had opened a roadside eatery near CR Park, police said.

On Tuesday, the Delhi high court had said that they were contemplating to end the blanket extension of interim bail and special parole for prisoners who were released during the lockdown to decongest the prison. The high court had observed that only three prisoners from around 12,000 were currently infected with Covid-19 and that their release was only a stop-gap measure at the start of the lockdown. Around 4,000 prisoners from Delhi’s three jails have been released and their parole/bails has been extended multiple times. Prisoners who had “good conduct” in jail or were caught for non-heinous crimes or were not involved in heinous cases such as terror acts, rape with murder and cheating were eligible for release.