Delhi / Man slits woman's throat over cigarette in Delhi, incident caught on CCTV

New Delhi: The police on Monday said they have arrested the 45-year-old plumber, who allegedly stabbed a woman to death in the middle of a busy market in Dabri area on Sunday night.

According to the police, the CCTV footage from the crime scene shows suspect Dilip (identified only by his first name) stabbing the woman after a minor scuffle. The CCTV clip was widely circulating on social media groups on Monday.

Police said the incident took place on Som Bazar road in Rajapuri, Dabri, where the 30-year-old woman with two children ran a small grocery shop. The 44-second video, recorded by a CCTV camera in the marketplace, shows the woman outside her shop and the suspect walking by when she stops him. Police said Dilip owed money to the woman and had not paid her back despite her repeated requests.

“The CCTV footage showed that the incident happened at 10.16pm. Dilip is seen walking bywith a bag in his left hand and speaking to the victim, Vibha (identified by her single name). There is no audio in the video. The woman is seen lashing out with a stick at Dilip. A few seconds later, the suspect is seen keeping his bag on the pavement near the woman’s shop. He then takes out a knife from his bag, lunges at the woman and stabs her in the neck, even as 10-12 pedestrians pass them by,” said a police officer, asking not to be named.

Police said as soon as Dilip slit her neck and the woman fell to the ground, locals gathered at the spot and started beating him up. The mob of about 20-25 people also attacked a police team and pelted stones at the police vehicle, which reached the spot after receiving a distress call from an eyewitness. Police said the mob refused to let police take Dilip into custody and insisted on beating him to death.

Deputy commissioner of police(Dwarka) Shankar Chaudhary said, “While the police were investigating the matter some people gathered there and laid siege to the police party and demanded that Dilip, who was really drunk, be handed over to them . The mob started pelting stones and bricks at the police party. Police managed to apprehend Dilip and also recovered the knife from his possession. He was later taken to DDU hospital for a medical checkup.”

The officer said two police constables were injured in the violence and a police control room van was also damaged by the mob.

During interrogation, Dilip told police that he used to buy cigarettes and grocery items from Vibha’s shop and that he had not paid her the money he owed her for these. On Sunday night, when Dilip was returning to his house in nearby Rajapuri, Vibha stopped him and asked him for the money he owed her. Police said Dilip then took out a knife that he used at work and stabbed her.

“Vibha’s husband had rushed her to the hospital but she succumbed to injuries. We are questioning Dilip and have registered a case against him. Separately, a case of rioting has been registered against the locals,” said DCP Chaudhary.

In 2020, 472 murders (including 53 deaths in the Delhi riots) were reported in Delhi, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, down from 571 in 2019. Police said every year, about 20-25% murders in Delhi are a result of “ sudden provocation” or over trivial issues. In 2018, of the 477 murders that year, at least 21% (100) were a result of “sudden provocation” or over “trivial issues”, the police said. The police did not have the breakup for 2019 and 2020.

One such murder, over the non-payment of ₹300, was reported from central Delhi’s Anand Parbat area on Saturday. A man, who worked as a chemist, was stabbed to death by his friend over a debt of ₹300.

On August 4, a 23-year-old man was stabbed to death and his cousin injured at a birthday party in Prem Nagar, outer Delhi, after a quarrel broke out between the two and their friends over the cutting of the cake. Police said the two men wanted to cut the cake early while their friends wanted them to wait for an hour.