Man Kills Painter In Delhi, Suspected Him Of Having Affair With Wife: Cops

A 47-year-old man allegedly killed a painter in Delhi, suspecting him of having an affair with his wife and not returning money he had lent him, an official said on Saturday.

Two men, identified as Vanketesh alias Raja (47) and Gaurav alias Mulli (25), have been arrested in connection with the crime, the official said, adding that the dead was identified as Rakesh (35), who worked as a house painter.

"Raja allegedly believed Rakesh had an illicit relationship with his wife. He had also lent him money several times, which was never repaid," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.

A raid at Raja's residence in Madangiri led to the recovery of an eyewitness, Ritik Diwakar alias Cheeta, who confirmed that his father-in-law Raja and Gaurav beat Rakesh using a plastic rod, belt, punches and kicks, and slammed his head against a wall.

The duo later transported the body in an auto-rickshaw and dumped it near the Karni Singh Shooting Range to avoid detection, police said.

"The incident came to light on July 11 when a PCR call was received around 11.30 am reporting an unconscious man lying on Surajkund Road near the shooting range in Pul Prahladpur area. A local banana vendor had spotted the body while on his way to work," the DCP added.

A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim unresponsive. With no identification documents on the body, over 500 CCTV cameras along MB Road, Surajkund Road and Sangam Vihar were examined, and inquiries were conducted with residents and passersby.

After a fingerprint match from the Rampura Fingerprint Bureau, the dead was identified as Rakesh.

A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 238(a) (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the BNS was registered at the Pul Prahladpur police station on Friday.

While analysing CCTV footage from the Madangiri area, the police spotted a man wearing the same shirt that was later found on the dead body. The man was identified as Gaurav, who during sustained interrogation disclosed that Rakesh was beaten by Vanketesh at his residence.

Gaurav has a previous case under the Arms Act registered at the Ambedkar Nagar police station, while Raja has been booked earlier under the Excise Act.

Further investigation is in progress.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)