Cop among 2 held for killing 28-yr-old

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police constable and his friend were arrested for allegedly assaulting a 28-year-old fruit vendor over a road rage incident, abducting him and dumping his body in a canal in Uttar Pradesh’s Muradnagar on the night of June 4, police said on Thursday.

DCP (east) Priyanka Kashyap said the constable, Monu Sirohi, who was posted at the Pandav Nagar police station, was dismissed on Thursday. The other arrested man, Harish, repairs air conditioners for a living. Police are on the lookout for two more suspects, Vikas and Vineet, who were involved in the attack.

The crime came to the fore on July 20, nearly 46 days later, when a video, which shows four men assaulting the victim, Ajeet Kumar, and his friend, Atul, in New Kondli area came to the attention of police.

On Thursday, the station house officer of New Ashok Nagar police station, under whose jurisdiction the incident happened, was suspended and sent to district lines for alleged negligence in handling the missing complaint filed by Kumar’s family on June 13. They filed another complaint on June 15 and also filed a complaint with the lieutenant governor’s office. “Instead of finding my brother, the policeman handling our complaint wanted us to withdraw the complaint...,” said Kumar’s brother Ashok.

In the complaint, the family expressed apprehension about the involvement of a neighbour, who allegedly used to pass casteist slurs. “When questioned, the neighbour shared the video in which four men are seen beating up Kumar and Atul,” said the officer.

The district’s special staff found that the Swift car into which Kumar was shoved into was registered to Sirohi.

“Sirohi initially denied his involvement but eventually confessed... His interrogation led to the arrest of Harish. They said that Kumar died because of the assault and that they, along with two others, dumped his body in a canal,” said the officer.

Another police officer said Sirohi and Harish told police that they had consumed alcohol on the day. “Kumar apparently hit their car’s hood, which led to the altercation,” said the officer.

DCP Kashyap said a case under IPC sections 364 (kidnapping in order to murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) has been registered.