Four people, including a woman, have been arrested in connection with the crime that took place on February 18.
A 48-year-old man was allegedly murdered by his friends and chopped into pieces before his body was thrown into Delhi’s Yamuna river, police said on Monday. The brutal and pre-planned attack, was reportedly carried out after the victim refused to hand over money.
Four people, including a woman, have been arrested in connection with the crime that took place on February 18. One accused is still on the run, news agency PTI reported.
What happened?
According to police, the prime accused, Happy alias Suraj (29), had become friends with Anroop Gupta, who managed a canteen at Chhattisgarh Sadan in Delhi, about a year ago. Happy had noticed that Gupta regularly wore gold jewellery and had also learned that he was living separately from his family, police said.
On February 18, Happy invited Gupta for a party at his rented room in Matiala Extension. When Gupta reached the flat, he was allegedly tied up with ropes and assaulted with sticks by Happy and his associates. They demanded money from him, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said.
Gupta reportedly told them that his gold rings and bracelet were kept inside his SUV, which was parked at Chhattisgarh Sadan. The accused then took the car keys, brought the vehicle to Matiala and removed the ornaments.
Police said that when Gupta refused to give them more money, the group beat him again and stabbed him to death.
Body cut into pieces, thrown in river
“In a shocking act of brutality, Happy procured a big knife (machete) and cut the body into pieces. The body parts were packed in three plastic bags. Transported the bags by using Gupta’s SUV and disposed of them in the Yamuna River near Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh,” DCP Ankit Singh said.
Police said the accused tried to divert suspicion by leaving 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 shut the outlet and return home.
Another message was sent to Gupta’s family, claiming he was travelling to Goa for a holiday and should not be disturbed.
The crime surfaced after Gupta’s family lodged a missing person complaint at Dwarka North police station on February 23, when they could not contact him and his SUV also went missing.
“After the missing report, a dedicated team was formed under the supervision of senior officers to trace the missing man. The team cracked the blind murder case with the help of technical and manual intelligence in a proactive manner,” the DCP said.
Based on evidence gathered, a case was registered at Bindapur police station. Police in Uttar Pradesh were alerted, and joint efforts were launched.
“Based on the evidence, a case was registered at Bindapur police station. The details were also shared with the police in Uttar Pradesh. Following coordinated efforts with police in Mathura district, the mutilated body parts were recovered from the Yamuna river,” the officer said.
Police examined CCTV footage from toll plazas and the area around the building in Matiala for three days. They found that Gupta had booked a bike ride on February 18, leaving his SUV parked at Chhattisgarh Sadan before heading to Matiala Extension. Cameras captured him entering a building there.
“He was never seen coming out. Four other persons were later seen entering the same building,” DCP Singh said.
Call detail records helped police trace the bike rider who had dropped Gupta at the location. CCTV footage later showed the victim’s SUV moving in and out of the building’s basement during the night of February 19 and 20, before heading towards the Yamuna Expressway.
