Three held for stabbing man to death after dispute over firecracker in Delhi

Three men were arrested for allegedly stabbing a man to death after beating him following a dispute over bursting firecrackers in outer north Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The accused have been identified as Dheeraj (24), Akash alias Baba (24) and Tarun (22). A fourth accused, Ajay alias Ali, is still absconding, the police said.

A call regarding the incident was received at around 12.20 AM on October 21. A police team reached the spot and found the victim lying in the street with a stab wound on the right side of his chest.

“The deceased was identified as Dileep alias Sitamber Prasad. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Dileep was beaten by three to four persons, one of whom stabbed him outside his house. His brothers Deepak and Sandeep were also assaulted during the scuffle,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami said.

The police said the altercation started about an hour earlier over an argument on bursting firecrackers. One of the accused was identified as Dheeraj, a resident of Shahbad Dairy, who initially absconded after the incident.

Based on Deepak’s complaint, a case was registered under sections 103 (1) and 3 (5) of the BNS, and a probe was initiated.

During investigation, statements of witnesses were recorded and CCTV footage from nearby areas examined. Using technical surveillance and manual efforts, police arrested the three accused within an hour.

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The accused are employed in different sectors — Dheeraj works at an e-commerce grocery unit in Jahangirpuri, Akash is employed at a utensil rack factory in Bawana, and Tarun works with a courier service in Rithala, police added.

Raids are being conducted to trace the absconding co-accused Ajay alias Ali, the police said.