New Delhi:
It's a crossroads where two 'whodunits' meet. In connection with the Shobhit Modi murder case of Vasant Kunj (north) Delhi Police on Sunday interrogated an ex-classmate of slain teenager Aarushi Talwar. "Sahil Khanna (name changed), a former student of Delhi Public School Noida had a tiff with the deceased Shobhit Modi over his friend Sana (name changed) who is studying at DPS, RK Puram. Sahil had studied with Aarushi Talwar when they were in class IX.
Around a year ago, a party was thrown in Delhi in which Sahil Khanna, Shobhit and Sana had met. Sahil started liking Sana and proposed to her several times. Shobhit scolded Sahil when he came to know about this. Since then the two were not on good terms. Sahil confessed about the tiff but has denied his hand in the murder," said a senior police official on the condition of anonymity. Sahil lives in Patparganj area of east Delhi and is still pursuing an LLB degree from Amity University; he is in the first year of the course. His father is working with a security firm. Sana has reportedly revealed a few names who might be involved in the murder.
Rohit (name changed), another student of DPS and neighbour of Shobhit, was also interrogated by the police. Rohit too had been rebuked by Shobhit for allegedly stalking Sana. Rohit had been proposing to Sana while she would have nothing to do with him. Fed up with his advances, she complained to Shobhit about Rohit. "Shobhit had taunted Rohit about his looks in front of Sana. He too acknowledged the incident but claims he had nothing to do with the killing. Police let him go after taking his statement," said a police official. The officials have taken the statements of Shobhit's friends Priya, Param and Akshat (all names changed) and two other girls in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, a police source called up this reporter and said that a girl could also be behind the killing.
"During interrogation police came to know that Shobhit had ignored proposals of few girls. One of them can also be behind the incident, probably because of jealousy," he said. However, the source refused to name any of the girls.
An official close to the investigation said that the sharp-edged weapon used in the crime was a dagger. "The forensic doctors have told us that the weapon used in the crime was bigger than a kitchen knife and most probably a dagger," said the police. Cops said that prima facie investigations suggest that Shobhit was stabbed by two persons. "His assailant seems to be first time attacker. We are suspecting that a known person is behind the killing," said the police official.
The official said that Shobhit had called up at the landline no. of his home and said that he would reach there within fifteen minutes. At around 9:30pm on May 5 he called up one of his friends and said that he was going home in an auto rickshaw. The friend has said the same to the police. "If we could trace the auto rickshaw we can get a lead in the case through the driver. Police are searching for the TSR that dropped him in Vasant Kunj area. So far we have not got any clues about this," said the police official. DCP, South, Chhaya Sharma said that eight teams have been roped into the investigations, each working on a different angel. "So far the motive behind the murder is not clear to the police. We are working on a few possibilities, a love triangle being one of them," she said.
Shobhit's iPhone, costly wristwatch and cash had not been taken away and this had led police to arrive at the conclusion that robbery was not the motive for the murder
Shobhit was found lying in a pool of blood near Gate number 3 in C-5 area of Vasant Kunj (north) on Thursday at around 9:40pm by Teknath, a security guard of the area. The guard did not know how to use his cellphone. Meanwhile, Shobhit's friend Priya (name changed), who lives in Mayur Vihar, called him up. Teknath told her that Shobhit had stab injuries. Priya called up Suraj Modi, the victim's father and a general manager with MMTC.
Suraj Modi tried to reach Shobhit on his cellphone and asked him where he was. The victim's parents rushed to the spot and took him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. Shobhit was living in C-6 block with his family. He was a second year student at Manav Rachna University. His brother Rohit is pursuing an MBA from a Gurgaon-based firm and is also working with a private firm in the same area. His mother Renu is a homemaker. On May 5, he left his home for DLF mall. A driver had been employed by his father a month ago, as Shobhit was no good behind the wheels. His driver dropped him off at DLF Mall where he met six of his friends including three girls. Shobhit and his girlfriend Sana left the mall, along with her parents, in a car. The victim's cellphone revealed that he had been near DLF Mall at around 9:30pm.
A man was shot dead by four persons in Vasant Vihar area in south Delhi on Sunday night. The police said that the incident took place at around 11pm in the forest area near Priya Cinema."The body bore two bullet injuries. He was taken to AIIMS trauma centre where he was declared brought dead. He is yet to be identified," said a senior police official. A passerby who witnessed the incident rushed to the local police station and informed the cops that four persons had beaten up a man and then shot him. However, the eyewitness vanished into thin air after giving the information. Police rushed to the spot and found only the victim.