Four held for stabbing man to death after one of them was ‘slapped publicly’

A 23-year-old man was stabbed to death on Saturday in north-east Delhi’s Welcome allegedly by four men to avenge the “humiliation” they faced when he “slapped” one of them in public, the police said.

All four alleged attackers were arrested and two knives used for killing the man, Noor Hassan alias Armaan, were seized on Sunday, deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Ved Prakash Surya said.

The arrested men were identified as Asif Khan aka Danny, Rehaan, Kasif, and Feroz Khan, all residents of Welcome and Seelampur in north-east Delhi. All four knew Hassan and Asif and Kasif were his neighbours.

“Around a fortnight ago, Hassan had slapped Asif in public. Asif felt humiliated and decided to take revenge. He included his three friends who also bore grudges against Hassan allegedly because he had assaulted them several times in the past,” DCP Surya said.

On Saturday, the police received a call regarding a body in Janta Mazdoor Colony in Welcome and were told that it was taken to a hospital. They found Hassan’s body with three to four stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. A case of murder was registered and investigation was taken up.

The investigating team activated their informants’ network and through them they came to know about Hassan’s enmity with Asif and the other three men and also about the public slapping incident. Police went to look for the suspects and found that they were missing from their homes.

“We collected information about their whereabouts and caught them from north-east Delhi. They admitted to killing Hassan to settle scores with him. Their interrogation led to the recovery of the two knives used in the crime,” the DCP said.