Delhi: Brother-in-law among two held for killing labourer, hiding body in Shahdara

A 35-year-old labourer was allegedly beaten to death by his brother-in-law and another man after a drunken quarrel over a “trivial” issue, with the accused later burying his body under sand on the fourth floor of an under-construction building in Shahdara area of Delhi, police said on Monday.

The victim’s brother-in-law, Aakash Rai, and his associate, Man Singh Rai alias Ranu, who worked as a watchman at another under-construction building nearby and has multiple criminal cases against him, were arrested from Madhya Pradesh, they said.

The deceased was identified as Ram Sewak, a daily wage labourer from Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh and father of four, who worked at construction sites.

According to the police, the murder came to light on May 6 when a foul smell was reported from an under-construction building in Naveen Shahdara area.

A police team rushed to the spot at around 6 pm and found the decomposed body of an unidentified man concealed beneath a heap of sand on the fourth floor of the building.

The police said the victim’s face had decomposed severely, making identification difficult. Crime and forensic teams were called to inspect the spot and collect evidence, while the body was shifted to GTB Hospital mortuary for a postmortem.

During the inquiry, the police learned that the foul smell was first noticed by a contractor engaged in POP work at the site, who informed the main contractor of the building.

An FIR was registered at Shahdara police station and multiple teams were formed to crack the case.

“Teams scanned footage from nearly 100 CCTV cameras installed around the locality and simultaneously developed local intelligence to identify the deceased and trace possible suspects,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Rajendra Prasad Meena said.

During analysis of the CCTV footage and technical inputs, suspicion fell on Aakash and Ranu, who was working as a chowkidar at another under-construction building nearby.

“The duo had been seen with Ram Sewak on the night of May 2 and a heated altercation had reportedly broken out among them,” the DCP said.

The investigators found that both suspects had suddenly left Delhi on May 4 on the pretext of visiting their native village in Madhya Pradesh and their mobile phones were switched off since then. Based on technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, police teams conducted raids in Tikamgarh and eventually apprehended both the accused from their hideouts.

“During interrogation, the accused confessed to the murder and disclosed that Ram Sewak was Aakash’s brother-in-law. The accused said that all three had consumed liquor together on May 2 when an argument erupted over a trivial issue. During the fight, the victim allegedly abused the duo and hit Ranu on the head with a brick,” the DCP claimed.

Enraged over the assault, Aakash and Ranu allegedly attacked Ram Sewak with utensils lying in their kitchen, resulting in his death, the police said.

To destroy evidence, the accused allegedly carried the body through the interconnected rooftops of the two buildings and buried it under sand on the fourth floor, believing the area was rarely visited.

While Aakash is a daily wage labourer with one previous criminal case, co-accused Ranu has multiple criminal cases registered against him in Madhya Pradesh, the police said.