DU grad arrested for burning man alive

A 23-year-old third year student of Delhi University (DU) has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a murder in Alipur area in which he, along with his associates, had burnt a man alive.

MN Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (outer), said the arrested DU student, Manish, was also wanted in cases of extortion, vehicle theft and Arms Act registered at different police stations in outer district. He was caught on Monday from Kanjhawala area by the special staff team following a tip off from a police informer.

A sophisticated semi-automatic pistol with made in Japan punched on it, five cartridges and a stolen motorcycle was recovered from Manish, said the DCP. “The arrested criminal is techsavvy and clever. To avoid detection, Manish called his family members and accomplices only through WhatsApp. He even encouraged his gang members to remain in contact over WhatsApp only,” said Tiwari. Manish was pursuing graduation through DU’s School of Open Learning.

Security agencies are still struggling to keep surveillance on WhatsApp calls and messages. Senior police officers say that several gangsters and criminals take advantage of this to keep themselves away from police attention.

Police said the arrested man is a henchman of gangster Sunil Mann alias Tillu, leader of the notorious Tillu gang that is allegedly involved in extorting money from toll tax operators, transporters and truck drivers at Delhi-Haryana borders.

Tillu gang is in a longstanding rivalry with Jitender Gogi gang which is also involved in similar crimes in Delhi and Haryana’s Sonepat. The constant strife between the two gangs over oneupmanship has often ended in bloodshed. In the last three years, as many as five people from both the gangs have lost their lives, while many others had near-fatal attacks during their gang war.

The arrest of Manish, the DCP said, has helped them solve the sensational murder case of one Sanjay Kumar Verma, a resident of Delhi’s Shahabad Dairy, whose charred body was discovered at an isolated place in Alipur area in March.

During the interrogation, an investigator said, Manish revealed that they suspected Verma to be an informer of their rival gang. On the fateful day, Manish and his accomplices intercepted Verma in Alipur area and took him to a secluded place.

“They thrashed Verma brutally but he refused to accept that he was working for Jitender Gogi gang. Even the attackers realised that they had picked up a wrong person. But they feared that Verma will file a police case if they released him. To avoid arrest, they decided to kill Verma and burnt him alive,” the officer said.