Addict kills friend for leaving him only little drug to inject

Hussain had injected a larger share of the drug and left only a little for Mumtaz. That angered Mumtaz, leading to a quarrel and, eventually, Hussain’s murder. Mumtaz has confessed to killing Hussain.

A POLICE OFFICER

NEWDELHI: Suspecting his friend of injecting himself with more than his share of a drug that they were splitting between them, a man in Narela killed the 45-year-old man, the police said Thursday, after arresting the suspect.

Identifying the arrested suspect as 28-year-old Mohammad Mumtaz, police said he first strangled the victim with a plastic cover, then slit his throat and smashed his face and head with a brick. “Mumtaz wanted to disfigure the victim,” Gaurav Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (outer north district), said.

Police said the drug they used was an antihistamine, used to control allergic reactions, but often abused by many as a recreational drug to get high.

The DCP identified the murdered man by a single name, Hussain, and said he did odd jobs to earn a living. Hussain lived with his wife in the same Bawana slum as Mumtaz. The duo would allegedly inject drugs together.

On Sunday morning, Hussain’s body was found on a street in another part of Bawana. Police said his throat was slit and had injuries on his head and face, with a plastic bag tied around the neck. Two bloodstained stones were found near the body.

The police circulated his image on social media groups and soon he was identified. The DCP said local inquiry revealed that he was last seen with Mumtaz. “We put Mumtaz through sustained interrogation and he admitted to killing Hussain,” the DCP said.

According to the DCP, Mumtaz revealed that he and Hussain were injecting drugs on Saturday night when they began quarrelling. “Hussain had injected a larger share of the drug and left only a little for Mumtaz. That angered Mumtaz, leading to a quarrel and, eventually, Hussain’s murder,” said the officer.