Property dealer stabbed to death in Lajpat Nagar

A 39-year-old property dealer was stabbed to death in full public view on a busy street near his home in Lajpat Nagar-I in south Delhi on Friday night.

A 39-year-old property dealer was stabbed to death in full public view on a busy street near his home in Lajpat Nagar-I in south Delhi on Friday night.

Manish Chhabra was repeatedly stabbed in his right thigh by two unidentified men with an ice pick. He died due to excessive bleeding, police said.

Police have not ruled out business rivalry or property dispute behind the murder.

A case of murder was registered at the Lajpat Nagar police station against unknown persons. Three teams have been formed to identify the killers, a senior police officer said.

The incident happened around 8.30 pm on Friday when Chhabra was returning home in his Swift car. He stopped his car outside a kiosk near his house to buy cigarettes.

Chhabra was waiting to get cigarettes when two men came from behind and stabbed him in his thigh.

Eyewitnesses said Chhabra fell on the stairs of the shop and started bleeding. The attackers escaped on a motorcycle. A bystander rushed to inform Chhabra’s family about the attack.

“The property dealer was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre by his brother Ashish in an auto-rickshaw. He died of stab wounds during treatment,” the officer said.

Chhabra’s family said this was the fourth attack on him in the past few years. Ashish told the police that his brother was last attacked in March this year.

Ashish claimed the police had registered FIRs in connection with two of the three alleged previous assaults but failed to identify anyone. The police, however, said they were looking into the allegations.

“We are trying to identify the attackers. Our teams are scanning CCTV cameras installed in the area to get some clues about the suspects,” the officer said.

Chhabra lived with his mother and brother at their E-block home in Lajpat Nagar-1. He ran a real estate business from his office in Nehru Place.

Police claimed Chhabra’s wife and children lived elsewhere and the couple were not on cordial terms.