Soaring Wings

Bruce K. Thangkhal

NEW DELHI: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Monday arrested four persons including two women for murdering a retired Delhi Police sub-inspector on the intervening night of August 23 and 24. The accused identified as Raju (28), Suraj (30), Vandana (30) and Seema (35). All the accused are residents of Delhi Cantonment.

According to police, the accused Raju borrowed Rs 2.15 lakh from the deceased Ram Kumar. “The accused runs a small business in Gopi Nath Bazaar in Delhi Cantonment and he was unable to pay the money back. He could not bear the mounting pressure from Ram Kumar, so he along with his wife, Vanada, hatched a conspiracy to kill Ram Kumar. The accused also promised Suraj and his wife Seema Rs 50,000 for their assistance to eliminate Ram Kumar,” a police officer said.

Acting on a specific input the police team on early Monday apprehended Raju, Suraj, Vandana and Seema near Red Fort in Delhi while they were traveling in a Toyota Qualis van. “This van had been used by the foursome in dumping the dead body of SI Ram Kumar after murdering him,” said the police.

The police said on August 23 evening Ram Kumar visited Raju’s house in Delhi Cantonment and raised the issue of his money again. “Raju and Vandana offered him liquor mixed with sedatives. When Ram Kumar fell unconscious, Raju and Suraj along with their wives put him in their Toyota Qualis van and drove towards Ghaziabad, UP. They took him out at an isolated spot near Babugarh in Ghaziabad and stabbed him to death,” a police officer said.

“The four accused on August 23 late night dumped the dead body of Ram Kumar, a retired Delhi Police SI near Hanuman Tenple in Ghaziabad in UP. The deceased hails from Kanganheri village in Chhawla in Delhi,” said Neeraj Thakur, Addl. Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch.