A 33-year-old cab driver and his two friends were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly beating to death a Kenyan national near Indira Gandhi International Airport following an altercation over a fare of Rs 600, the police said.
After killing Jama Said Farah (51), a citizen of Kenya, cab driver Virender Singh and his friends -- Gopal (34) and Dilbagh (35) -- threw his body near a hotel, they said.
The incident took place on Monday, the same day, Farah had booked a ticket from Delhi to Somalia, the police said, adding that he could not fly because he was denied immigration clearance at IGI airport.
The accused told the police that the rate for the taxi from the airport terminal to his hotel in Mahipalpur was fixed for Rs 600 but when Farah reached near his destination, he only paid Rs 100 following which they got into an altercation with him, police said.
His body was found lying on a footpath near the hotel and his mobile phone was also recovered from the spot, they said, adding that his luggage was missing.
On contacting the last dialled number from his mobile, police got in touch with Manoj Sahu, a travel agent, who told police that the victim had booked a ticket through him for Somalia.
Later, the travel agent informed the victim's daughter about the incident.
The travel agent also sent a copy of the victim's passport, the police said.
The victim's daughter informed the police that her father was a heart patient and had come to India two weeks ago for his treatment.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his treatment was postponed by the hospital.
Hence, he was going back to his country via Somalia on Monday but was denied immigration clearance at the Delhi airport, as he did not have a visa for Somalia, a senior police officer said.
His daughter said after being denied immigration clearance, her father took a taxi from the airport terminal for a hotel in Mahipalpur, he said.
A case of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code was registered and during the course of investigation, the taxi driver was identified with the help of the vehicle number provided by the victim's daughter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan said.
The vehicle was registered in the name of Virender Singh, a resident of Rangpuri village, he said.
A raid was conducted and Singh was arrested from his house. On his instance, two other accused were also arrested from their residence in Rangpuri.
When interrogated, the accused confessed to their crime and told the police that they also took the victim's luggage and other valuable items with them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
