Neighbour held for killing head Granthi and grievously injuring his wife

Police on Wednesday said they had solved the murder of a 52-year-old head Granthi (ceremonial reader of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib) and the attempt to murder of his

Police on Wednesday said they had solved the murder of a 52-year-old head Granthi (ceremonial reader of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib) and the attempt to murder of his wife on Friday while the couple was performing a kirtan at a gurdwara in south Delhi’s RK Puram, and arrested his 58-year-old neighbour, also a Granthi, for the two crimes.

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The families of the victims as well as the alleged accused live in the staff quarters of the gurdwara, the police said.

The alleged accused, Darshan Singh, was caught from Nagina area in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. He was planning to go to a remote village in Uttarakhand to evade arrest. Darshan played tabla during the kirtan while the deceased Ravinder Singh, the head Granthi, played the harmonium, said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh.

“The crime took place following an altercation -- Ravinder had teased Darshan over the quality of his table recital. Darshan did not like the criticism and he hit Ravinder with a tabla, fatally injuring Ravinder. When Ravinder’s wife came to his rescue, Darshan attacked her as well with the tabla. She suffered serious injuries to her head and eyes, but survived the attack,” DCP Singh said.

Police said that the crime was reported by the hospital where the injured couple was admitted. A murder case was registered on the complaint of the couple and investigation was taken up. During the probe, the couple’s neighbour Darshan became the prime suspect as he was missing since the incident. It was also learnt that the two had arguments on many occasions in the past as well, said a police officer associated with the probe, not wishing to be named.

As the suspect played tabla at the gurdwara and had earlier served in several other gurdwaras across the country as a Granthi, the investigating team believed that he may be taking shelter in a gurdwara somewhere. Investigators learnt that Darshan had last served in a gurdwara in Rishikesh and multiples teams were sent to various gurdwaras in Delhi, Nanded, Haridwar and other places in search of him.

“Darshan was spotted at a Ibrahampur village in Saharanpur. The lead was developed and the suspect was finally caught from Nagina area on Tuesday,” said the officer, adding that Darshan was earlier declared a proclaimed offender in a house trespass and assault case registered against him in Rishikesh.