In an apparent act of seeking retribution for a sexual assault, a minor boy and his two companions reportedly fatally stabbed a 25-year-old man with a khukri in Nizamuddin last Thursday. According to the police, the accused, who reside in Nizamuddin Basti, proceeded to mutilate the victim's face with stones and set his body ablaze in an effort to eliminate evidence. Following their presentation before the Juvenile Justice Board, the minors—two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old—have been placed in a shelter home, as confirmed by a senior police officer.
As per the police, the victim is alleged to have engaged in sexual assault against one of the accused. Subsequently, the accused, along with two of his associates (all juveniles), devised a plan to eliminate the perpetrator.
"We have apprehended the three juveniles who are in the age group of 16 and 17, after an information was received about the incident on the night of December 23," a senior police officer said.
Police stated that a dedicated team was assigned the task, and they successfully apprehended the accused individuals in the Nizamuddin Basti vicinity.
They acknowledged their involvement in the killing of a man named Azad and disclosed that they had placed his body near Khusro Park. Following their admission, police teams, accompanied by the juveniles, arrived at the location, where a partially burnt body was discovered in the park, as reported by the police officer.
The police said that the crime team conducted an investigation at the location.
"We took custody of the body which was sent for autopsy at AIIMS. An FIR of murder and hiding evidences of crime was registered. The accused told police that they murdered the man on the night of December 21 and tried to burn his body by putting dry grass and cloth," the police added.
"We have recovered the weapon used in the murder, stones and a stick. The deceased was a too bad character of Hazrat Nizamuddin police station. Further investigation is being carried out," the police said.
(With inputs from PTI)
