Delhi Police today claimed to have solved the murder of a young man on New Year's eve with the arrest of his roommate, who had managed to evade suspicion till now by claiming his room was locked from outside by the victim after they had a fight.
Police arrested 30-year-old Mandeep Singh, a bar manager, for allegedly killing Ravinder Singh on the night of December 31, 2015, after they got into a fight after consuming alcohol.
According to the police, during the fight Mandeep had hit Ravinder on the head with a brick. After he realised Ravinder had died due to the blow, he had disfigured the victim's face and removed his belongings to prevent or delay identification.
He had then asked a passersby to latch the room from outside and then on the next day around 12 PM, he got his landlord to open the door and in this manner try to fabricate an alibi for himself, police said.
He had initially told the police that Ravinder and some of his friends had come to the room to party and consume alcohol. Later, he and Ravinder had got into a fight and the others had left as a result.
Thereafter, Ravinder also left and latched the door from outside, Mandeep had told the police, a senior officer said.
However, on sustained interrogation, Mandeep broke down and "confessed to have committed the crime", the officer said.
Police also recovered his bloodstained clothes and the belongings of the deceased.
The victim's face was so badly disfigured that police was able to identify him only on January 5 after they met his brother, Surender Singh, who had reported Ravinder missing from January 1.
Surender, Mandeep and Ravinder lived as roommates. The victim was jobless and thus, did not contribute anything towards rent or food expenses, police said.
According to Surender's statement, his brother had left to meet his friends and celebrate the new year on the evening of December 31 but had been missing since then.
