Deadly Vendetta: Security Guard Murdered in Delhi

A juvenile, nursing a grudge over a month-old altercation, allegedly conspired with his associates to brutally murder a 60-year-old security guard by assaulting him with a stick and then running him over twice with an SUV in outer Delhi's Peeragarhi area, police said on Tuesday.

Police have arrested two men and apprehended two juveniles, including the alleged mastermind for murdering the security guard.

'The accused allegedly killed the guard to avenge a month-old altercation in which the victim had abused one of the juveniles,' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Vikram Singh said.

According to police, the incident took place in the early hours of May 24 near the tempo stand at the entry gate of Peeragarhi village.

Police received a PCR call around 4.03 am regarding a fatal accident near Shri Shidh Baba Mandir. A police team reached the spot and found the victim, identified as Bijender Bharadwaj (60), lying unconscious with severe blunt and crushed injuries. He was declared dead at the scene.

During preliminary enquiry, police learnt that Bharadwaj worked as a guard at the tempo stand. Investigators noticed multiple skid marks at the scene, which raised suspicion about the nature of the incident. CCTV footage collected from cameras near a temple allegedly showed the accused first assaulting the victim with a stick before mowing him down with a vehicle, police said.

'The footage showed one of the accused stepping out of a four-wheeler and attacking him with a stick. The driver then accelerated the vehicle towards the victim and ran him over. When Bharadwaj attempted to escape, he was allegedly run over again by the same vehicle,' a senior police officer said.

Following the incident, an FIR was registered at Paschim Vihar West police station and an investigation was launched. Multiple teams were formed to trace the accused.

During the investigation, officers analysed footage from over 200 CCTV cameras and carried out technical surveillance, while local informers were also activated, police said.

On May 25, police received a tip-off that the accused were attempting to flee to Haridwar through Mundka Industrial Area in a black Mahindra Bolero used in the crime.

Acting on the information, the police laid a trap and intercepted the vehicle near Mundka Industrial Area.

'The arrested accused were identified as Vinay (22), a resident of Bahadurgarh in Haryana, and Ayush Chauhan (18), a resident of Najafgarh. Two juveniles were also apprehended in connection with the case,' the officer said.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed that a minor altercation had taken place between one of the juveniles and the deceased around a month ago, during which the victim allegedly used abusive language. 'Seeking revenge, the juvenile allegedly conspired with his associates to eliminate Bharadwaj,' the DCP said.

Police recovered the SUV used in the crime. Investigators also found that the accused had removed the vehicle's original registration number plate to avoid detection. The SUV was registered in the name of a relative of one of the juveniles, he said.

Further investigation is underway, police said.

(With inputs from agencies.)