New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) Delhi Police said on Wednesday that a group of six people, enraged over a friend being beaten by his father, stabbed a 40-year-old shopkeeper to death in central Delhi locality.
According to the police, the incident occurred on the night of Monday, when a PCR call reported the stabbing of Rajender Kumar, a shopkeeper at H-47, Milan Pan Bhandar, H-Block, Patel Nagar, which lies in the west of the city.
Kumar, a resident of Baljeet Nagar, was rushed to RML Hospital, where he was declared brought dead by the attending doctors.
Following the incident, an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered, and an investigation into this case was taken up by the team.
Through forensic examination, the CCTV footage of the vicinity was analysed by the team, and through scrutiny of criminal dossier, the police identified the main accused as Md. Mehtab, 19, a resident of Farid Puri, who had previously been involved in a 2024 robbery-cum-attempt to murder case.
Acting on intelligence, the police located him under Shadipur Flyover on Tuesday. When ordered to surrender, the accused opened fire at the police, prompting retaliatory gunfire, which struck him in the right leg. He was subsequently overpowered, disarmed, and admitted to RML Hospital.
During further investigation, five more suspects involved in the crime were also detained.
Recovered items include two knives used in the murder, a country-made pistol with one live cartridge and one empty cartridge, and the clothing worn by the accused at the time of the crime.
While being interrogated by the officer, he revealed that the offenders, all school dropouts from Farid Puri, had consumed alcohol before demanding free cigarette packets from the shop.
“When Rajender Kumar refused, a heated argument ensued, leading to the brutal stabbing. The accused fled the scene immediately after the attack,” police said.
A separate FIR under various sections of the BNS & 25/27 Arms Act has been registered in connection with the firearm used.
Further investigation into this case is ongoing, the DCP mentioned.
