Two of Delhi killers are adults: police

A day after claiming that all five who killed a young man in broad daylight here were juveniles, Delhi Police said Thursday only three were juveniles and two were adults.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpender Kumar told IANS they were now convinced that two of the suspects -- Shahrukh and Kartik -- were both aged 20 years.

Both will be produced in court Thursday.

"We apprehended all the five accused Wednesday. As all of them claimed to be juveniles, we were in the process of confirming their age," Kumar said.

"Three were confirmed to be juveniles Wednesday and two were taken into police custody as their age could not be confirmed.

"But it is now confirmed that the two are adults and 20 years old."

The sensational -- and grisly -- murder occurred Tuesday around 3.30 p.m. in a narrow and crowded lane at Madangir in south Delhi.

The two-minute attack was caught on a CCTV camera installed outside a shop.

The footage showed Sachin, the victim, driving a bike with a pillion rider and running into the killer squad coming from the opposite direction.

As Sachin and his friend fell from the motorcycle, the accused pounced on Sachin. The pillion rider fled in panic.

Sachin tried to escape but was chased for around 10 metres and pinned to the ground.

While beating him, the killers took Sachin to a corner and stabbed him repeatedly on his back, chest and abdomen.

None of the scores of people in the lane came to the victim's rescue. The killers then escaped -- not realizing that the crime had been caught on a camera.

Many passersby walked through the lane, not paying heed to the bleeding Sachin.

A police officer hit out at the callous public.

"The attack took place around 3.05 p.m. but we were informed only around 3.30. Had we been alerted on time, we would have rushed the victim to a hospital. Who knows he may have been alive today," the officer said.

By the time police intervened, Sachin had bled to death. He was declared dead in a hospital.

The three juveniles -- whose names were not released -- were sent to a juvenile reformation home Wednesday.

According to police sources, Sachin has been accused of extorting money from the accused and beat them up on petty issues.

"The five accused said they were fed up with his extortion and wanted to teach him a lesson but did not intend to kill him," an officer said.