Man murdered over petty argument, one held

A 35-year-old man was allegedly murdered over an argument in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area, police said today.
In a bid to mislead investigations, Sourabh (23), got himself admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre in Khanpur after murdering Uttam Prakash on January 13, said DCP (Outer) Rishi Pal, adding the accused was arrested early this morning from the centre.
Sourabh had also given a fake address to the rehab centre to throw police off-track, he said.
Prakash bumped into Sourabh when he was returning after meeting his sister in Mangolpuri D Block on January 13, said the DCP said.
"Both were drunk and they got into an argument following which the accused hit the victim, who fell to the ground. Sourabh repeatedly hit him with a stone and crushed his head to hide his identity," Pal said.

The accused thought of an alibi and went to a rehabilitation centre at Khanpur and got himself admitted on the day the murder was reported, the DCP said.

He wanted to give an impression that he was admitted to the rehabilitation centre for a long time and was not present at the time and place of the crime, he said, adding the accused took away the mobile phone and wallet of the deceased to make it look like a robbery.
Local criminals who were involved in robberies in the past were interrogated at length, Pal said.
"A systematic search of young persons living in nearby localities, who were found to be absent from their residence, was launched and some were found missing from their houses for the last three to four days.

"It was found that Sourabh had got himself admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre on the day the murder was reported. He was arrested following interrogation," Pal added.