NEW DELHI: Investigators probing the murder of 64-year-old dry fruits businessman Rohit Kumar Alagh at his Panchsheel Park home suspect he may have been killed over a property dispute or due to personal rivalry, according to sources. However, they have ruled out robbery, saying the murder was premeditated.
"Nothing was scattered or stolen. There was no ransacking of the room," DCP Ankit Chauhan said on Wednesday evening.
All of Alagh's digital devices were found intact as well. However, in a setback for the investigation, the DVR from the CCTV system at the house has gone missing.
Cops suspect the role of an insider — someone who knew the victim and was familiar with the layout of the house. The broken mesh on the ground floor is also being examined, an officer said. Police said the forensic team that inspected the spot found "blood stains with footprints on the floor".
DCP Chauhan said the incident came to light when the family's car cleaner came for the keys Monday morning and tried getting the door of the house opened, but did not get any response. "When the victim's younger son, Reuksh, who was in the next room, opened the door to give the keys to the car cleaner, he noticed that his father was lying on the floor," the DCP said.
Meanwhile, cops are also looking into the possibility of more than one person being involved in the crime. Given that Alagh was "well built", investigators said it was unlikely that a single individual could have overpowered him without assistance.
The role of everyone connected to the victim is being verified, the DCP said. Police are also questioning the domestic staff and others who used to come frequently to the home. "We have questioned about 20 people in the case so far," an officer said.
According to the initial opinion of the doctors following the postmortem, the victim was likely killed between 4am and 4.30am on Monday. "There is some movement in the CCTV footage around the area, and through technical surveillance, we learned that the murder may have taken place during this timeframe," the officer said.
Police received a call from the victim's younger son at 9.30am, informing them about the murder. He told them blood was still oozing out from his father's chest. Later, police found that the elderly man was stabbed multiple times in the stomach.
Alagh's elder son Tushar works as a chef and owns a restaurant in Hauz Khas while his younger son is a musician.
The investigating team has sealed the crime scene for further forensic examination and is awaiting detailed reports that might provide additional clues about the identity of the suspect.