A woman and her male friend were arrested in East Patel Nagar area for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to kill her husband and portray his death as an accident as they thought him to be an "obstacle" in their relationship, police said on Sunday.
Anita, 30, and Arjun Mandal, 38, were arrested recently in connection with the killing, they said.
The body of 42-year-old Dayaram with grievous injuries on his head and other parts was found lying in the shaft of a lift of an under construction building in central Delhi's East Patel Nagar area on October 17, police said.
According to police, Mandal and Dayaram, who were labourers, knew each other and the duo had worked together. He started coming to his house and eventually developed intimacy with his wife around three years ago.
"The duo considered Dayaram as an obstacle in their relationship and planned his murder to portray it as an accidental death," police said.
Police found a bag containing tiffin box, muffler and a mobile battery, slippers from the spot while a bottle of whisky, two paper juice glasses, a plastic polythene, a silver foil pouch of eatable snacks, a paper plate were found scattered on the building's terrace.
A case was registered and a probe initiated, they said.
The identity of the body was confirmed by Anita, who worked as a domestic help, and other relatives.
However, investigations arose suspicion on Anita as she attempted to mislead police and was quite evasive during the interrogation. During call detail record analysis of mobile phones of Dayaram and his wife, one number was found to be the common link, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa.
"Dayaram had last called on the same number and even his wife had several calls with the suspected number overnight when the body of the deceased was found at the site. Even the suspected number and the mobile phones of Dayaram and his wife were at the same location between 6.30 pm to 6.40 pm on October 16," the officer said.
The user of the suspected number was identified to be of Mandal, he added.
During interrogation, Anita and Mandal confessed to the crime after they were confronted with evidence and call detail records.
"It was revealed that Anita had an extra-marital affair with Arjun for the last three years. Both were planning to eliminate Dayaram for the past few months. To execute their plan, Mandal called Dayaram at the Patel Nagar Metro Station at the instance of Anita. He invited him for drinks," the DCP said.
Mandal took him to the terrace of an under construction building in East Patel Nagar at about 7.00 pm, where they drank together. After spending almost an hour on the roof top, he pushed Dayaram from the stairs of the rooftop in the shaft of an open lift hole, following which he succumbed to injuries, he said.
To destroy the evidence, Mandal even took out Dayaram's mobile phone from his pocket and threw its battery in the shaft. After that, Arjun went to Farid Puri and handed over the mobile phone to Anita. Mandal also threw his blood-stained slippers and clothes in Karol Bagh, the officer said.
Dayaram's mobile phone, blood-stained clothes and slippers of Mandal have been recovered, police said, adding that the mobile phones of both the accused have been seized.
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