Third arrest made in U.S. national’s murder

A day after two persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of an American citizen in New Friends Colony (NFC) in July, the police have arrested the third accused.

A senior police officer said that Nitin Sabharwal, a resident of NFC and a friend of the victim, was arrested on Monday night for his alleged involvement in the murder of Hemant Chawla, who was found dead at Nitin’s residence in the early hours of July 5.

The information was confirmed by two officers in the Crime Branch who were tasked to investigate the case.

Mr. Chawla’s sister Shivani Ahluwalia said the police informed her about the arrest on Tuesday morning. “My mother Neena received a message from the police around 11 a.m,” she said.

On Monday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Alok Kumar had said two accused, Tasim and Pritam Saini, were arrested on Sunday but Nitin was not as he was admitted to a hospital. The motive behind the murder has not been ascertained.

Mr. Hemant, a business analyst, had stayed in the US for 25 years before returning to India in 2016 to take care of his 72-year-old mother.

At the time of the incident, Mr. Chawla had gone to Nitin’s house for dinner and drinks. The accused told investigators that the victim consumed a large amount of alcohol and drugs, which resulted in his death. An AIIMS medical report, which was submitted in October, however, stated that he had died due to asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation.