Horror as man, 48, invited to party then killed, ‘chopped into bits’ and dumped in river | World | News
A 48-year-old man was allegedly killed and dismembered by his friends before his body was dumped in the Yamuna River in Delhi. The brutal and pre-planned attack was carried out after the victim refused to hand over money, police said on Monday (March 2).
Four people, including a woman, were arrested in connection with the crime that occurred on February 18. However, according to local news, one of the defendants is still at large. The prime accused, Happy alias Suraj (29), had befriended Anroop Gupta, who runs a canteen at Chhattisgarh Sadan in Delhi, India, about a year ago. Police said Suraj noticed that Gupta was wearing gold jewelery regularly and also learned that he was living separately from his family.
On February 18, Suraj invited Mr Gupta to a party at his rented room in Matiala Extension, a densely populated residential area in West Delhi. When Mr Gupta reached the flat, he was allegedly tied with ropes and attacked with sticks by Suraj and his friends. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said that they demanded money from him.
Gupta reportedly told them that his gold rings and bangle were kept in his SUV parked in Sadan, Chhattisgarh. The accused then took the car keys, brought the vehicle to Matiala and removed the jewellery. Police said when Gupta refused to give them more money, the group beat him again and stabbed him to death.
“In a shocking act of brutality, Happy took a large knife (machete) and cut the body into pieces. The body parts were put in three plastic bags. He carried the bags using Gupta’s SUV and threw them in the Yamuna River near Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh,” DCP Singh said.
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Police said the accused tried to divert suspicion by leaving Mr Gupta’s mobile phone inside the car and keeping it switched on. Messages were sent from his phone to the canteen staff, asking them to turn off the outlet and return home. Another message was sent to Gupta’s family claiming that he was traveling to Goa for a holiday and should not be disturbed.
The crime came to light when Gupta’s family filed a missing complaint at Dwarka North police station on February 23, but they could not contact him and his SUV also went missing.
“Following the missing report, a special team was constituted under the supervision of senior officers to trace the missing man. The team proactively solved the case of blind murder with the help of technical and manual intelligence,” the DCP said.
“Based on the evidence, a case was registered at Bindapur police station. Details were also shared with the police in Uttar Pradesh. After coordinated efforts with the police in Mathura district, the dismembered body parts were recovered from the Yamuna river,” the officer said.
During interrogation, Suraj allegedly confessed that he had planned the murder along with his associates Bhupender, Balram, Neeraj and live-in partner Rakhi. Police arrest Bhupender, Balram and Rakhi. However, Neeraj escaped as efforts to trace and arrest him were still ongoing, officials added.
