New Delhi:

Two murders in Delhi that took 6 km apart and appeared completely unrelated, were unexpectedly solved today when the police examined the CCTV footage. Not only were they connected, the same group of five juveniles were involved in both, the police said. It led to a manhunt that was over within 13 hours as the police rounded up all of them.

The first death was reported from New Ashok Nagar. The police got a call at 3 am that said a man has been injured in an accident near the Jal Board Treatment Plant. When the police reached there, it became obvious that the man has been stabbed multiple times. The man, profusely bleeding, was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

“When teams reached near the treatment plant between Kondli Bridge and Dallupura turn, they noticed a large amount of blood on the main road,” Abhishek Dhania, a senior police officer, was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

A case was filed and the police started scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas to hunt for clues. 

Towards noon, the Ghazipur police received a distress call that said a man was found dead behind a liquor shop in the Paper Market area, the officer said. 

The police found the body at an empty plot behind the liquor shop. He had deep stab wounds on his thigh. The man was identified as 49-year-old Ramesh, a resident of Ghazipur’s Kumhar Basti.

“CCTV footage from the vicinity revealed a disturbing sequence wherein four young men were seen attacking the victim,” the DCP said. It did not take the police long to identify the suspects as the ones seen in New Ashok Nagar.

Four police teams were formed which reviewed the CCTV footage and tracked movements via Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, the officer said. Forensic analysis and video surveillance footage established that the same group was involved in both the murders, the officer said.

“The juveniles first committed the Ghazipur murder in a drunken state and later targeted a passerby in New Ashok Nagar,” the officer said.

The police said the murder at New Ashok Nagar took place sometime after the Gazipur murder. Police said the juveniles had gathered at the liquor shop to celebrate a birthday, when an argument started and they stabbed Ramesh.

Then they went to New Ashok Nagar and in a drunken state attempted to rob a passerby near Dallupura Road.  When the victim resisted, they stabbed him and fled the spot.

All the juveniles were arrested by 4 pm.
 

(With Agencies)