Murder over love triangle, 3 held

NEW DELHI : In a suspected case of murder over a ‘love triangle’, a 24-year-old man was strangled to death with an iron rod in front of his female friend by three men, including her ‘former boyfriend’, in north Delhi’s Majnu ka Tila last week.

The three allegedly wrapped the body in a blanket and stuffed it in a Delhi Jal Board pipeline chamber near the Wazirabad flyover, police said.

The three were arrested on Tuesday, two days after the body was recovered.

Jatin Narwal, deputy commissioner of police (north), said the deceased, identified by his single name Lala, was allegedly murdered by Minku Yadav alias Bunty, Vijay Mally, and Kapil alias Pappu. They did not like his closeness with the minor girl, he said.

“Lala was murdered in front of the girl but she was not involved in the crime. She is the prime witness,” Narwal said, adding Lala had a criminal background and was a habitual offender with the Civil Lines police station.

On March 29, Lala’s mother filed a missing complaint, saying Lala had not returned home since March 25.

On Sunday, the police were alerted about a foul smell from pipeline. “A body wrapped in a blanket was found. The body was Lala’s,” said Narwal.

An investigator said police learnt Lala was last seen with his female friend. Police contacted the girl and she narrated the sequence of events.

“Their interrogation revealed the girl was dating Bunty. But over the past few months, she had become closer to Lala. Bunty did not like it and told his two friends and they decided to kill him,” said the officer.