Cops arrest 44-year-old for murder of DJB engineer in Rohini

Rathi was allegedly murdered on the night of October 31 at his flat, however, his family, who were staying in another apartment, found out about the murder on November 3.

Days after a 59-year-old Delhi Jal Board (DJB) engineer was found dead at his house in Delhi’s Rohini, the Delhi Police arrested a 44-year-old man in connection with the case.

The deceased, identified as Suresh Kumar Rathi, worked as an assistant engineer with the DJB.

The deceased, identified as Suresh Kumar Rathi, worked as an assistant engineer with the DJB and lived with his wife and three children in pocket 16, Rohini. His daughter is a major at the National Security Guard.

Rathi was allegedly murdered on the night of October 31 at his flat, however, his family, who were staying in another apartment, found out about the murder on November 3.

Police said he was hit on the back of the head with a heavy object and stabbed on the neck with a sharp object.

A senior police officer said, “Our probe revealed that on October 31 evening, Rathi came to his apartment and took off with his keys. The family thought he was going to stay at the other apartment and sent food for him. The next day, his wife called him but the phone went unanswered.”

Police added that on November 2, his son went to the apartment to check on him but found the house locked and assumed that his father had gone for work. However, on November 3, he found that his father had not reached the office.

The family used a spare key to unlock the door and found Rathi’s body in the bathroom with empty liquor bottles and a screwdriver. Rathi’s chain and jewellery were missing, indicating a robbery, said police.

Rajeev Ranjan, DCP (Rohini) said that the teams began probing the matter to identify the accused and ascertain the sequence of events.

Investigators said CCTVs were extensively analysed and it was found that the entry of the killer was “friendly”.

“Our teams worked on CCTVs, local enquiry and technical surveillance for hours. It was then found that Rathi was last seen entering his house with a man. The accused was identified as Bunty Singh, a resident of Aman Vihar area” said the DCP.

Police said Singh was arrested on Wednesday and he confessed to his involvement in the murder. “The investigation revealed that Singh had become acquainted with Rathi a few days prior and spoke about work. However, Singh was planning the robbery. On the night of the crime, he committed the murder before fleeing with the victim’s jewellery and cash”, said the DCP.

To evade arrest, the accused allegedly wore a hoodie and mask while entering Rathi’s house. He planned to steal the jewellery after getting Rathi drunk but got caught. “He said he hit Rathi to defend himself and later robbed him” said an officer.

All robbed articles including jewellery and cash were recovered. Additionally, two mobile phones and a scooty used in crime were also recovered, said the police.

The accused is involved in three other criminal cases.