A 48-year-old man was killed by his friends and hacked into pieces before dumping his body in the Yamuna river in Delhi, 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, news agency PTI reported. One of the accused is still at large.
What happened?
According to police, the main accused, identified as Happy Suraj (29), became friends with Anroop Gupta, who ran a canteen at Chhattisgarh Sadan in Delhi, about a year ago. Police said Happy noticed Gupta wearing gold jewelery regularly and also learned that he lived separately from his family.
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On February 18, Happy invited Gupta to a party at his rented room in the Mattila Annex. When Gupta reached the apartment, he was allegedly tied with ropes and assaulted with sticks by Happy and his companions. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said they asked him for money.
Gupta reportedly told them that his gold rings and bangles were kept inside his SUV, which was parked at Chhattisgarh Sadan. The accused then took the car keys and brought them to Matiala and removed the ornaments.
When Gupta refused to give them more money, the group beat him again and stabbed him to death, police said.
The body was cut into pieces and thrown into the river
“In a horrific act of brutality, Happy got hold of a large knife (machete) and cut the body into pieces. The body parts were packed in three plastic bags. He transported the bags using Gupta’s SUV and disposed of them in the Yamuna river near Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Ankit Singh said.
The accused tried to deflect suspicions by leaving Gupta’s mobile phone inside the car and keeping it switched on, police said. Messages were sent from his phone to cafe staff asking them to close the outlet and go home.
Another letter was sent to the Gupta family, claiming that he was traveling to Goa on holiday and should not be disturbed.
The crime came to light after the Gupta family filed a missing person’s complaint at Dwarka North police station on February 23, when they were unable to contact him and his SUV also disappeared.
The Director of Public Prosecution said: “After the missing report, a specialized team was formed under the supervision of senior officers to track down the missing man. The team solved the case of blind murder with the help of technical and manual intelligence in a proactive manner.”
Based on the evidence collected, 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. After coordinated efforts with the 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 Matila Extension. Cameras caught him entering a building there.
“He was never seen exiting. Four more people were later seen entering the same building,” DCP Singh said.
Call detail records helped the police track down the biker who dropped Gupta at the location. CCTV footage later showed the victim’s SUV moving in and out of the basement of the building during the night of February 19 and 20, before heading towards the Yamuna Expressway.
“NHAI toll data confirmed that the SUV headed towards Vrindavan and returned to Noida within a few hours. The main conspirator, alias Happy Suraj (29), a resident of Hansi in Haryana, was identified through CCTV footage and traced,” the DCP said.
During interrogation, Happy allegedly confessed to planning the murder along with his associates – Bhupinder, Balram, Neeraj and his live-in accomplice Rakhi.
The police arrested Bhupinder, Balram and Rakhi. Officials said Neeraj is still on the run and efforts are on to trace and arrest him.
(with PTI inputs)
