Delhi man uses teen sister as bait in murder plan

NEW DELHI: A man seeking revenge on the relative of a girl he had sought to marry, used his minor sister as bait to honey-trap the relative - who had opposed the alliance - and brutally killed him, police said after cracking the bizarre case.
The sinister plot unfolded as per the man's plan. His sister befriended the target and called him to a "romantic meeting" at Tughlakabad Fort in southeast Delhi. The target walked right into the trap.

In the ruins of the fort, the accused and his DJ friend allegedly stabbed the victim repeatedly, then poured kerosene on the body and tried to burn it. Cops stumbled upon the body a few days ago. The victim was identified through a tattoo on his hand, but police initially got no leads on the murderer(s).

However, technical surveillance and the statement of a friend of the victim - who had accompanied the victim but had fled suspecting foul play - enabled the cops to solve the case within 96 hours.

On Friday, DCP (south east) Chinmoy Biswal told TOI that the accused man, his sister and her juvenile woman friend, the DJ and two other friends have been arrested. TOI is withholding the identity of the accused as minor girls were allegedly involved in the crime. The main accused made a living by preparing legal documentation.

On May 6, a partially burnt body with multiple stab injuries and a slit neck was found at the Tughlakabad jungle adjoining the mediaeval fort. The body had no source of identification on it, except a tattoo on the forearm.

Enquiries were conducted in nearby areas for a missing man with a tattoo. This led to the victim's identification as Neeraj from Faridabad. During investigation, it was found that Neeraj was in a relationship with a minor girl for the past 15 days and that the girl who had called him up that day. The cops found the number of another girl active at the scene of crime and interviewed her. She confessed to the crime and spilled the beans on her friend. The two girls led the cops to the girl's brother and his friends. During interrogation, the accused revealed the plot.

The main accused, who was already married since 2013, had fallen in love with another girl four months ago. However, this girl was already engaged with a relative of Neeraj. She was supposed to get married on April 20.

On April 19, the prime accused landed up at the girl's house in an inebriated condition and created a ruckus by asking the girl not to get married to somebody else. The accused had also brought his mother with him and she supported him, police said.

Neeraj, who happened to be in the house, confronted the accused and thrashed him. Neeraj's friend, Manoj, too joined in.

Seething in revenge, the accused planned to eliminate Neeraj and his friend. He requested his minor sister to become friends with Neeraj. As per plan, the girl began to talk to Neeraj and finally called him to meet her on May 6. She also roped in another friend of hers to lure Manoj.

Neeraj and Manoj met the girls at the gate of the fort, bought tickets and went inside. They then headed to a jungle area to get intimate, police said.

Manoj, however, spotted one of the accused in the area and fled. Neeraj, however, was caught unawares and attacked by the accused. They stabbed him six times and also slit his throat.

Manoj came to know about the murder a day later but did not go to the police immediately out of fear. As the cops closed in on the suspects, Manoj helped them joined the dots.