Driver kills passenger with bricks over fare dispute in west Delhi

A refusal to pay a fare of around `1,000 triggered a quarrel inside a van that turned fatal when a driver beat the passenger with bricks and an earthen-pot-like object before dumping the body on the roadside in the Naraina area here, police said on Saturday.

During questioning, accused Rajinder Kumar alias Annu, 59, told police that he picked up the deceased from IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram, Haryana, in the van on August 17, an officer said. According to police, the dispute broke out during the journey over payment of the fare, allegedly around `1,000.
The passenger allegedly refused to pay, leading to a quarrel inside the vehicle in West Delhi, police said.

Rajinder allegedly assaulted him with bricks and an earthen-pot-like object, inflicting fatal injuries, police said. After committing the crime, he called his wife, Kamini Makhija, 50, and son, Laksh Makhija, 28, to hide the body, police said.

The officer said the two allegedly assisted him in concealing the deceased’s clothes and dealing with the vehicle used in the crime. All three were subsequently arrested on Friday night.
Police learned about the incident when the Naraina police station received a PCR call about the body in the Naraina Vihar area, the officer said. Police reached the spot and found an unidentified man, aged around 35 years, lying naked and blood-stained on the pavement near the wall of a government school. Police said the man suffered a deep injury on the right side of his head, along with multiple body injuries. Blood scattered around the spot indicated a violent assault.

“Investigators also noticed a distinctive heart-shaped tattoo with an arrow on the victim’s left forearm, bearing the names ‘Anand’ and ‘Renu’, which became an initial clue in establishing his identity,” a senior police officer said.

The crime team and Forensic Science Laboratory team inspected the scene and collected evidence before shifting the body to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. After registering an FIR, police began the probe. Because the deceased’s identity was unknown and no eyewitnesses were apparent, police examined CCTV cameras installed around the crime scene and along roads leading to and from the area.

“Teams analysed around 500 CCTV recordings and noticed a Maruti Eeco moving suspiciously in the vicinity around the relevant time. The registration number was not initially clear, prompting police to track the vehicle through multiple cameras and reconstruct its route before and after the incident,” the officer said.
Police eventually identified the vehicle as a Maruti Eeco and traced and apprehended its owner, Kumar, a resident of Naraina village. 

Police recovered the van at the instance of Kumar’s wife Kamini, while they recovered the deceased’s clothes and shoes following information provided by his son, Laksh. Police said they are examining the vehicle as an important piece of evidence to establish the sequence of events leading to the killing and disposal of the body.