OWNER OF GTB HOSPITAL CANTEEN STABBED, POLICE LAUNCH PROBE

NEWDELHI:THE 44-year-old owner of a canteen in GTB Hospital was repeatedly stabbed for resisting four robbers in east Delhi in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

The robbers took away his mobile phone, but didn’t touch his jewellery and ₹40,000 cash, prompting his family to suspect it to be a case of personal enmity.

However, Meghna Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara), ruled out personal enmity as a motive behind the crime and said the evidence so far pointed to be a robbery.

“We suspect local drug addicts to be involved in the crime. They may have targeted him after spotting him on the road and may not have known he was wearing jewellery and carried cash,” said the DCP.

A case of robbery and causing hurt during robbery has been registered at GTB Enclave police station. According to an investigator, the suspects have been captured by a CCTV camera, but they are yet to be identified.

The targeted canteen owner has been identified as Ishwar Dayal, a resident of GTB Enclave. He owns a canteen in GTB Hospital that is a five-minute walk from his home.

“The crime took place around 12.45am on Thursday when Dayal was walking back home. There were four men on a scooter and they targeted him close to the hospital. They took away his phone and stabbed him in his neck, ear and face, when he resisted their attempt,” said Dayal’s brother-in-law, Satish.

Dayal’s cries for help were heard by a local, Mohan, who lives near the crime spot and was an acquainted with the victim. “I ran downstairs and saw him bleeding. I rushed him to GTB Hospital,” said Mohan in his statement to the police.

“He kept pointing to his neck and ear and then I realised he had been repeatedly stabbed. He also indicated to me that his mobile phone has been robbed,” said Mohan. Dayal’s condition was stated to be out of danger by the police.