Days after a 40-year-old shopkeeper in Delhi was stabbed to death over a dispute on free cigarettes, the police said on Wednesday that the main accused was arrested after a brief exchange of fire. Five minors allegedly involved in the murder have also been apprehended, the police added.
According to the police, the incident occurred on Sunday night when a shopkeeper was found stabbed at his paan shop in H-Block, West Patel Nagar. “The injured victim, Rajender Kumar, who lives in Baljeet Nagar, was shifted to RML Hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” Nidhin Valsan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central District, said.
A case was registered under sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police analysed CCTV footage from the surrounding area and identified the accused. Investigation revealed that the accused and five minors, all school dropouts from Farid Puri, who allegedly commit thefts and robberies as a group, had gone to the paan shop after consuming liquor on Sunday and demanded free cigarette packets, the police said. When the shopkeeper refused and asked for payment, a quarrel broke out.
“They stabbed him severely, and he was later declared dead after being taken to the hospital. The offenders then fled the scene after the stabbing,” DCP Valsan said.
On Tuesday, at about 9 pm, based on intelligence that the main accused, identified as Md Mehtab alias Raja, 19, was hiding under the Shadipur Flyover near the railway line, a police team led by Inspector Naveen Kumar reached the spot. When the police directed him to surrender, Mehtab allegedly opened fire on the police party. The police retaliated, and one bullet struck the accused on his right leg. He was subsequently overpowered, disarmed, and shifted to RML Hospital.
According to the police, Mehtab, a resident of Farid Puri, was previously involved as a juvenile in a 2024 robbery-cum-attempt-to-murder case.
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Two knives used in the crime, one country-made pistol, one live cartridge, one empty cartridge, and clothes worn during the incident were recovered, the police said, adding that the five minors allegedly involved in the murder were apprehended on Wednesday.
