A 49-year-old labourer was allegedly stabbed to death by three men in south-east Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh after he refused to give them a bidi (thin cigarette), the police said on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) R.P. Meena said the deceased was identified as Siddique, who was from Malda in West Bengal, and the accused as Mohammad Faizan (20), Mohammad Usman (22) and Jaheer Mansoori (20).
The police said that the victim had been working as a labourer at one Nadeem’s house in Shaheen Bagh and the two had become good friends. On Thursday evening, when Nadeem and Siddique were sitting on the banks of the Yamuna and smoking, three men arrived and asked them for a bidi .
When the duo refused, the men started abusing and thrashing them. Siddique and Nadeem tried to run away but the men chased them down and thrashed them again. Some people then intervened and managed to save the victims.
The three accused, however, managed to catch the duo again, and took skewers from a nearby shop and stabbed Siddique.
When Siddique fell unconscious, the three escaped from the spot. Mr. Nadeem took Siddique to his room and tried to give him first aid, but when his condition worsened, he rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.
During investigation, CCTV footage helped police in identification and arrest of the accused. following raids, the police said.
The police have recovered the skewers used in the murder, they said.
