St Stephen's murder: Police suspect Pandey's killer may be hiding in a monastery in U'khand

More than six months after a radiology intern at St Stephen's Hospital here allegedly killed his colleague, police are still on the lookout for him, even as they suspect that he might be hiding in a monastery in Uttarakhand.
Shashwat Pandey was found with his throat slit at a retiring room in the hospital in August last year. He was allegedly killed by Suyash Gupta, his batchmate at the hospital.
After killing Pandey, Gupta had fled Delhi, following which a lookout notice was issued for him. But six months on, he continues to be elusive even as teams from district police and Crime Branch are after him.

Gupta carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest.
Police said they had found that the accused had stayed at a lodge in Haridwar in August last year but since then his whereabouts are not known.
A senior official privy to the probe said Gupta had given his cell phone to a waiter at the lodge when he stayed there around August 28.

"He had asked the waiter to switch on the cell phone after a year but the waiter switched it on in November. We tracked down the lodge but could not find any leads from there," said the official.

It was learnt that Gupta was asked to leave the lodge by the manager since he found his credentials dubious, he said.
The official said that it was suspected that Gupta was hiding in a monastery in Uttarkhand.
"He is a doctor and it is suspected that he might be working in one of the matha there. He might have assumed a new identity and probably disguised himself by changing his facial appearance," he added.
He said Gupta was known to be a loner and only had Pandey as a friend.
"He can easily avoid getting noticed. He also had withdrawn around Rs 8 lakh from his account before killing Pandey. It means that he also has money to sustain himself," said the official.

He said a team will soon be sent to Uttarakhand to track him down.
"The team will be stationed there and will scan all possible locations - small clinics, schools and monasteries - where Gupta might be hiding," he said.
Gupta was into PlayStation gaming and police had even attempted to find his login ID on the platform but to no avail.
Last month, the Delhi High Court had asked the trial court to review once a month the progress of the probe into the disappearance of Gupta as well as into the alleged murder of his colleague of which he is accused.

The court had passed the decision on a habeas corpus petition, filed by Gupta's mother through her counsel seeking the high court's intervention to direct the police to find her son who has been missing since the day of the killing.
Gupta and Pandey were on good terms and were even staying together. But the situation worsened between them when Pandey became friends with a nurse and did not give much time to Gupta. The duo developed differences and Gupta then hatched a plan to kill Pandey, police had said.
The accused had bought a knife and clothes online as part of the plan. He had come in his car to the hospital, killed Pandey and then fled to Anand Vihar bus terminal where he abandoned his vehicle.