Delhi police crime branch has arrested a 17-year-old for allegedly killing a 55-year-old unani practitioner inside his private nursing home in southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj onThursday. According to police, the juvenile has confessed he shot him on the instructions of the husband of a nurse working in the same hospital. After the incident, he allegedly uploaded a post on a social media platform with his photograph and a caption: "Kar diya 2024 mein murder" (Finally committed murder in 2024).

Both the juveniles lived in the same locality and the weapon used in the crime has been recovered, police said. The breakthrough came when police tracked the suspect through his Instagram account, where he posted a photo of himself holding a pistol with the caption, "First murder of 2024," which led the police straight to him.

Police said one juvenile was arrested from the Anand Vihar area. During interrogation, the  accused juvenile confessed that he had been hired by the husband of a nurse who suspected Akhtar of having an affair with his wife.

The minor accused further revealed that he was in love with the nurse’s daughter and that the nurse’s husband had promised him that he would get him married to his daughter if he murdered the doctor.

“The husband suspected an affair between the nurse and Dr Akhtar. The accused teen was in love with the nurse’s daughter. So, the husband promised he would get his daughter married to him if he killed Dr Akhtar,” a Delhi Police officer told the media.

Police said the juvenile confessed to his involvement in the murder, along with his accomplice, another juvenile. He stated that they had procured the pistol used in the crime from one Babu r/o Khadda Colony, Jaitpur and kept the same with their teenager friend in Jafrabad after commission of Murder. The weapon used in murder along with empty and live cartridges have also been recovered.

The incident occurred in the early hours of October 3, when two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, entered Nima Hospital in Delhi's Jaitpur area around 1:30 am, pretending to seek treatment. One of the boys asked the staff to change the dressing on his injured toe. Moments later, they shot Dr Akhtar at point-blank range.

The police have also questioned a female nurse of the nursing home and her husband in connection with the case, sources said.. Initially, the police said, the accused claimed a monetary dispute with Dr Akhtar but recanted later.