A 19-year-old youth, who murdered his 23-year-old neighbour in cold blood for objecting to his slicing leaves off a banana plant in their neighbourhood, was arrested on Saturday.
The victim, Govind Mahto, was having a puja at home and needed plantain leaves for the ceremony. His mother asked him to get a few from their neighbour’s plant. While Govind was hacking the plant, Surjit Kumar confronted him. He accused Govind of stealing the leaves and the two got into a fight. Surjit then snatched the kitchen knife from Govind and slit his throat.
“locals from a nearby JJ colony found Govind in a pool of blood and informed his parents who rushed him to Max Hospital in Patparganj where he succumbed to his injuries,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Ajay Kumar.