A UPSC aspirant killed a 65-year-old security guard of a residential block in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave on Wednesday, the police said.
The attacker has been identified as Benzi, who belongs to Imphal in Manipur, and lives in the area.
An insomniac
He is said to be an insomniac who carried a paper cutter in his pocket while taking a stroll at night.
The accused had an altercation with an autorickshaw driver for overcharging. The police said that he mistook the victim, who was sleeping in an autorickshaw parked in the complex, as the driver.
Victim Ram Bahadur Khatri, who hailed from Nepal, had been living in Delhi for more than 40 years. He was on duty and was taking a nap in an autorickshaw parked nearby during the early hours of Wednesday, when the accused slashed his neck.
An injured Khatri rushed to his house in Humayunpur, which is about half a kilometre from the spot. However, he collapsed at the entrance.
During investigation, the police scanned footage of more than 20 CCTV cameras installed in the area. One of the CCTV cameras had captured the accused escaping after attacking the security guard. Benzi confessed to the murder. He said he was agitated with autorickshaw drivers of his area following the altercation he had with one of them.
“Benzi was travelling in an autorickshaw a few weeks ago when he had an altercation with the driver over the fare. He developed a grudge against them. Around 2.30 a.m. on Wednesday, he spotted Khatri sleeping in the autorickshaw and mistook him as the driver with whom he had a fight earlier. He took out a paper cutter and stabbed the man to death,” said DCP (South) Vijay Kumar.
Benzi told the police that he is insomniac. He has been staying in the city for the last three years and preparing for the civil services exam.
Internet search
“After committing the crime, Benzi rushed backed to his room. He searched ‘how to evade arrest after murder’ on the Internet. He even shared links with his friends on WhatsApp and discussed the matter without telling them about the crime he had committed. He later deleted his WhatsApp chat history to conceal the conversations. He also hid the paper cutter in the flush tank of his bathroom. It has been seized,” Mr. Kumar said.
