Police remain confused over murder near Akshardham temple

NEW DELHI: The murder of a 26-year-old man near Akshardham temple in east Delhi on Wednesday has left many questions unsolved, leaving the investigating team in a tizzy.

Police had arrested Anil, a 35-year-old telephone booth owner and ex-army man on Wednesday, after he and two accomplices allegedly shot dead Santosh Kumar in Mayur Vihar Phase-1, close to the temple, after trying to rob him of Rs.850,000.

But police are not sure how many people were involved in the crime.

"The picture is not very clear yet. We can't say how many people were involved in the crime. Anil has denied involvement of any other person during interrogations," Assistant Commissioner of Police D.R. Birdi said here on Thursday.

"We are probing the matter and initial investigations suggest the involvement of at least one more person who had hatched a conspiracy with Anil. We have sent out teams to various areas to continue investigations," Birdi told.

However, he said no eyewitness had confirmed the presence of a second person.

"Till now we haven't come across any eyewitness who has seen more than one person. Even the two brave youths, Miraj and Wahid, who caught hold of the accused, didn't see any other man," he added.

When asked about the motorcycle reportedly used in the crime, Birdi said: "When our officials reached the spot there was no motorbike."

Birdi informed that Anil had suffered huge losses in the furniture business, following which he opened a phone booth in Noida. He needed money as he was planning to visit his hometown - Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. 

"We will seek his remand for further questioning," he added.

Police said that the victim's body has been handed over to his family. Santosh leaves behind his wife and two children.

According to the police, Santosh was travelling in an auto-rickshaw Wednesday afternoon when the accused stopped him at a traffic signal in Mayur Vihar Phase-1 and tried to rob him of the money.

Police said that Santosh withdrew Rs.850,000 from the Maha Medha Co-operative Bank in Noida Sector-41 and was returning home in Lakshmi Nagar, east Delhi. He worked for a chartered accountant in the same neighbourhood.

"The accused and the victim's employer had accounts in the same bank. On Wednesday, when Anil saw Santosh drawing money, he immediately hatched a conspiracy to rob him off and trailed the victim," Birdi said.

"First he fired a bullet in the air from his licensed revolver to threaten Santosh, but when the victim refused to hand over the bag, a scuffle broke out between them, following which he fired two shots - one hit the stomach and other the arm.

"The victim died on the spot while the auto-rickshaw driver managed to flee. We are also searching for the missing driver to get more details."