3 arrested for killing ragpicker in north Delhi's Sabzi Mandi

Three vagabonds were arrested for allegedly killing a ragpicker who was abusing them and throwing sand on their food in north Delhi's Sabzi Mandi area, police said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Aslam Khan (47), Tejbhan (40) and Ramesh (28), they said.

On Thursday while patrolling, police saw a body lying in a pool of blood near Mori Gate. The deceased, who was identified as Momin - a ragpicker - had injury marks on his head, a senior police officer said.

"After investigation, police arrested two men from Kashmere Gate area and one from Shastri Park area," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Monika Bhardwaj said.

Interrogation revealed that the accused were cooking food on Wednesday on a pavement at Ambedkar Market in Tis Hazari, she said.

The deceased was in an inebriated condition and was not allowing them to cook food. He was throwing sand in their food and abusing them, police said.

In a fit of rage, the three accused started beating him and one of them hit him with a stone, following which the victim fell unconscious on the pavement, police said.

The three accused then hid the body behind some parked cars and fled the spot.