A 22-year-old pastor was arrested on Friday on suspicion of murdering his friend, after he was reportedly insulted and slapped, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Devdas (55) and the accused as Kartik. He was working as a priest at a temple in Palam’s Raj Nagar for the past three years, said DCP (Southwest) Surendra Choudhary.
The police officer said that the two had been friends for one and a half years; Kartik also knew Rama Devi (54), a friend of Devdas. “On October 21, Devdas invited Kartik to his house at night for a drink. Rama had gone to his hometown in Andhra Pradesh,” said the DCP.
Devdas lived on the second floor of a building he owned in Raj Nagar, part of which he had rented out.
“After a few drinks, Devdas allegedly abused Kartik… Enraged by this, Kartik took a chopper, which Devdas used to keep under his pillow, and killed him,” the DCP said, adding that the accused said that Devdas he had slapped him. with him two to three times before.
Police said Kartik hid the body in a gun bag and returned home to change his clothes. “Then he came back and slept at Devdas’ house. “He kept coming to the flat every day until October 27 to turn on the water engine, which was Devdas’ job, so the tenants living on the top floor did not suspect anything,” said the police officer.
On October 30, Devdas’ sister, Asha, called the PCR, saying that her apartment smelled bad and that the family had not seen her for a week. “On reaching where Devdas lives, one room was found locked. “The fire brigade broke the lock and found a gun bag containing Devdas’ dead body,” said the DCP.
Police said Kartik, who went missing on October 27, was traced from his native Uttar Pradesh’s Etah. “Kartik was raided and arrested,” the DCP said.
Devdas’ nephew Vijay Sharma said, “He never fought with anyone although he used to get angry easily… His source of livelihood was the rent he received every month.” Rama had been living with Devdas for the past 15 years, he added.
Police say he was the first to hear that something was wrong. “Rama called Devdas’s daughter-in-law but she didn’t hear from him. After the murder, Kartik first picks up her calls and tells her that Devdas has gone to Jaipur on business. After that, his calls kept going unanswered,” said the police officer.