NEW DELHI: The investigation into the murder of 25-year-old lab technician Rinku Sharma in Mangolpuri will be conducted by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. TOI had reported on Saturday that the case was likely to be transferred to the Crime Branch given the developments of Friday, when five men were taken into custody and the primary objective became the motive for the act.
The Crime Branch began the probe in right earnest, with forensic experts re-examining the crime scene on Saturday. A team will record the statement of all witnesses and the family afresh. “The accused will also be re-interrogated. The allegations levelled by the deceased’s family will be probed. We have collected the documents from the local police,” said an officer.
Delhi Police spokesperson Chinmoy Biswal said, “We’re in touch with the deceased’s family and are probing all information coming to our knowledge.”
While the murder weapon has been retrieved, the cops are awaiting the autopsy report to ascertain the number and type of injuries on Sharma's body. The initial probe suggested there was no business dealings between the deceased and the accused, and the restaurant dispute angle extended by the accused was related to a common friend.
“Sharma hadn’t opened any restaurant. The suspects had started a dhaba in Rohini. A brother of Sharma's friend had opened a dhaba, and we are investigating if this is relevant to the case,” an investigator said.
The FIR lodged by police on the complaint of the family instead talks of a brawl between Sharma and the accused during Dussehra over a religious event at the Ram temple park in the locality. It says the accused often taunted Sharma after that and the latter’s family too said the accused were miffed with Sharma's involvement in Ayodhya mandir-related activities.
The five arrested men, Tajuddin, Danish, Zahid, Islam and Nasiruddin, are in custody on a three-day remand for interrogation. There is heavy police deployment in Mangolpuri to prevent the situation taking a communal turn.