Delhi Man Strangles Neighbour, Burns His Body Over Repeated Threats, Arrested

A man, along with his associates, who strangled and burnt his 19-year-old neighbour in outer Delhi's Narela area, has been arrested, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused, Sumit (27), had killed his neighbour, Kapil Dahiya, as he allegedly feared for his and his brother's life over repeated threats and abuse by the victim, police said.

The matter came to light when the half-burnt body of Dahiya was found in an open field near the Narela-Bawana flyover on June 29, lying next to a partially burnt motorcycle, the police said.

According to police, Sumit had called Dahiya to the place where he and his associates, Vishal and Harish, strangled the victim and burnt him to cover up the crime by hiding his identity, a senior police officer said.

The PCR call about the incident was received around 3 pm on June 29, and the police rushed to the spot along with a team, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar Swami said.

"The crime and forensic science labs were also called to the scene, where key clues, including the condition of the body and signs of an attempted cover-up, were recorded," Swami said.

Following identification by the victim's father, a case under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 238(b) (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Narela Police Station.

Acting on information, Sumit was traced to Haridwar in Uttarakhand and was arrested, the DCP said.

"During interrogation, Sumit confessed to murdering...with the help of two associates over repeated threats and abuse by the victim. He said he feared for his and his elder brother's life," a senior officer said.

The police have also recovered Sumit's mobile phone and the clothes he wore during the crime. The half-burnt motorcycle used by the victim was recovered from the scene earlier, police said.

Efforts are underway to arrest the absconding co-accused and recover the victim's mobile phone, the DCP said, adding that Sumit has been sent to two-day police custody.

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