NEW DELHI: The man who first appeared to be a trusted family friend turned out to be the alleged mastermind behind the murder of a 38-year-old man from Najafgarh, whose decomposed body was found lying in the grass near Kargil Chowk in Dwarka earlier this week.Dwarka Police have arrested two men, including 66-year-old Anil Thakur, a security guard at a private bank, and his 28-year-old associate Raju Kumar, for allegedly murdering Akhilesh Mandal and dumping his body.Investigators said Thakur was well known to the victim’s family and allegedly continued to mislead them after the murder, preventing them from reporting Mandal missing.The case came to light on July 12 after police received information about an unidentified decomposed body lying between a road and a drain near Kargil Chowk in Sector 18A, Dwarka.The body bore a head injury and visible tattoos, but no identification documents were recovered.A case of murder was registered at Dwarka North police station.Police formed multiple teams from the Special Staff and Dwarka North police station, which examined nearly 500 CCTV footage clips from the crime scene and adjoining routes while simultaneously using technical surveillance to establish the victim’s identity and trace those responsible.The deceased was later identified as Akhilesh Mandal, a resident of Najafgarh.During the investigation, police found that Mandal had been staying at Thakur’s house with his consent.However, frequent quarrels allegedly broke out between the two over Mandal’s alcohol addiction.Investigators said the dispute intensified after Thakur decided to sell his house, a move that Mandal opposed.According to police, on July 10, Thakur called Mandal to Sector 13 in Dwarka, where he was joined by co-accused Raju Kumar.The three then went to an isolated spot near Kargil Chowk, where the two accused allegedly assaulted Mandal with an iron hammer, killing him.After the murder, the accused allegedly fled to Dharampura in Najafgarh.Police said Thakur, despite being close to the victim’s family, continued to mislead them about Mandal’s whereabouts, delaying any missing person complaint.Police have seized the blood-stained iron hammer believed to have been used in the murder.
