Four held for robbing and killing man at Tughlakabad

Four men were arrested for allegedly robbing and killing a man in the Tughlakabad jungle, the police said today.

On January 13, a 21-year-old woman and her friend, Naresh, had gone to the jungle area near Tughlakabad Fort, through the Monkey Park, where they were surrounded by four men.

Three of the accused held them at knifepoint and made the woman remove her nose-pin and earrings, while the fourth asked Naresh to hand over his wallet and mobile phones, the police said.

As Naresh refused to oblige, one of the accused stabbed him in the chest and snatched his wallet and mobile phones.
 

The four accused then fled the spot. Naresh was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Following the incident, several history-sheeters from the area were rounded up and questioned about it. From the description provided by the woman, the dossiers of criminals with a similar modus operandi were examined and two men -- Surender alias Soni (31) and Sanjay alias Guddu (33) -- were identified.

Subsequently, raids were conducted in the Tughlakabad Extension area and Soni was nabbed yesterday.

Soni led the police to three of his other associates -- Sanjay, Pawan Kumar (23) and Ram Babu alias Vishambhar (21).

The police also recovered the deceased's mobile phones and the woman's jewellery from the accused.

During interrogation, Soni told the police that he was out of work for two months and surviving on the money provided by his wife and widowed mother, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said.

Soni also told the police that he wanted to gift gold jewellery to his wife, whose birthday was on the same day they committed the crime, the DCP added.

Another accused, Sanjay, told the police that he needed money to pay his lawyer as one of the cases lodged against him at the Govindpuri police station was in the final stage. In that case, Sanjay, along with an accomplice, had stabbed a boy and robbed his mobile phone near the Majeedia Hospital in 2012.

Soni told to the police that he was a dance teacher and claimed to have participated in several competitions and shows in and around Delhi, including in Tihar Jail, where he was lodged earlier.

Sanjay was a school dropout, who had completed class 12 from an open school and appeared for his undergraduate exams from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) while he was in Tihar Jail.