Delhi Man Murdered By 21-Year-Old After Fight Over Pay Cut: Cops

A 21-year-old man has been arrested in Delhi for murdering his employer over a pay-cut during the coronavirus pandemic, the police said on Monday.

Tasleem, who is from Uttar Pradesh, worked as a domestic help for Om Prakash, a 45-year-old dairy farmer. His salary was fixed at Rs  15,000, cops said. But with the Covid outbreak affecting business, the suspect was asked to take reduced pay.

An argument broke out between the two, police investigations and an interrogation of the suspect revealed, during which Tasleem claimed Om Prakash slapped him.

Tasleem told the police that after Om Prakash went to sleep he hit him on the head with a stick, slit his throat and packed his body into a sack before throwing it into a nearby well.

The next day, he allegedly told Om Prakash's relatives that he had gone away on business. Hours later he fled the house fearing he would be caught.

The police were called in on August 12 after a missing person's report was filed by Om Prakash's nephew, who said he had not seen his uncle since the night of August 10. The nephew added that Om Prakash had last been seen with his domestic help.

With precious little to go on by way of leads, the police caught a lucky break after neighbours complained of a strong odour from a well - the same one into which the accused had dumped Om Prakash's body.

The police found the body and a case was registered. 

The cops then swung into action, discovering that Tasleem had taken Om Prakash's motorcycle and mobile phone with him when he fled.

Raids were conducted at several places in Shamli district, Tasleem's home in UP, and other places in Haryana, but he managed to evade the cops. His luck finally ran out on Sunday; the police, on receiving information that he was in west Delhi's Jharoda Kalan area, set a trap for him.

Om Prakash's mobile phones and some documents belonging to him, as well as the knife allegedly used in the murder were found in Tasleem's possession, said senior Delhi Police officer Anto Alphonse.