Three men were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of a 24-year-old in north Delhi on March 25, the police said on Wednesday.
Lala, a caretaker at a nursery, was allegedly choked to death by Minku Yadav alias Bunty and his accomplices in front of an 18-year-old woman in Majnu Ka Tila after the duo got into an argument over the woman, the police said.
Body in pipeline
The trio allegedly wrapped Lala’s body in a blanket and stuffed it inside an unused Delhi Jal Board’s pipeline near Wazirabad flyover, they added.
The trio were arrested two days after Lala’s semi-decomposed body was found inside the pipeline.
‘Prime witness’
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Jatin Narwal said Minku, Vijay Mally, and Kapil alias Pappu allegedly killed Lala as Minku was angry over his friendship with the woman.
“Lala was murdered in front of the teenager but she was not involved in the crime. She is the prime witness. Minku called her and Lala for a meeting at an isolated place to settle the dispute on March 25. Two of Minku’s friends joined them later. They allegedly choked Lala to death with an iron rod and threatened to kill the woman if she told anyone about the incident,” said Mr. Narwal.
He added that Lala was a registered habitual offender at Civil Lines police station.
Missing complaint
On March 29, Lala’s mother approached the Civil Lines police and filed a missing complaint saying he had not returned home since March 25. A team was formed to trace Lala.
On April 1, the police was alerted about a foul smell from a pipeline near Wazirabad flyover.
“The pipeline was checked and a male body wrapped in a blanket was found. The victim was identified as Lala. We registered a murder case and started investigating,” said Mr. Narwal.
Probe revealed that the victim was last seen with the woman.
Woman contacted
The police contacted the woman and she told the police that Lala had been murdered. The three suspects were also taken into custody.
“Their interrogation revealed that the woman was having an affair with Minku but had become close to Lala over the past few months. An angry Minku decided to kill Lala when he discovered his friendship with the woman,” said the officer.
