New Delhi: Two house painters were arrested for allegedly stabbing to death a 58-year-old shoe store owner here, police said on Tuesday. The arrested accused have been identified as Mehraj Alam (32) and Taufiq (21) from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, they said. The accused allegedly stabbed to death Islam Ahmad in his shoe shop in Okhla's Batla House area.
They stole his mobile phone with the intention of stealing over Rs 40,000 he had in his online wallet, the police said. The two painters had earlier worked at the victim's house on August 29 and 30, they added. Ahmad was returning home after closing his shop on Monday night when the two painters met him on the pretext of buying shoes and cajoled him to reopen his shop.
Seeing him alone inside the shop, the accused allegedly stabbed him with a knife. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Esha Pandey said the police received a call at 12.20 am regarding the murder of a man at a shop on Muradi Road in southeast Delhi's Batla House. When the police reached the spot, Ahmad was found lying unconscious with stab injuries on his neck. He was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre but declared dead on arrival, she said.
A case of murder under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered, she added. During the inquiry, the deceased's son told the police that a stranger had called him from his father's phone with misleading information. Following this, the police put Ahmad's mobile phone on technical surveillance and traced the location to Paharganj. After searches in around 180 hotels and lodges, police apprehended the suspects, Pandey said. "During interrogation, the two disclosed that while painting the victim's house, they saw that there was a balance of more than Rs 40,000 in his Paytm account and they wanted to steal that money. "So, they killed him and fled with his mobile phone," she added. The police have recovered bloodstained clothes and a knife from the accused, the police said. (PTI)
