Man held for killing MCD worker in Delhi's Kalyanpuri was angry over wife’s calls

Key points

• The accused, identified as Nihal, was arrested from beneath a flyover near the Ghazipur border, they said.
• Nihal’s primary target was Gulshan, the man his wife allegedly spoke to.
• Police said Nihal, who had consumed excessive alcohol, called Anil towards him and a verbal spat ensued.
• A purported video showed a man in a yellow T-shirt approaching Anil after a brief verbal exchange and allegedly stabbing…

NEW DELHI: A 52-year-old man, allegedly angry over his wife’s daily phone calls with another man, was arrested for the stabbing death of a 27-year-old MCD sanitation worker in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area, police said. The accused, identified as Nihal, was arrested from beneath a flyover near the Ghazipur border, they said.

According to police, Nihal’s primary target was Gulshan, the man his wife allegedly spoke to. However, he identified Anil, a contractual sanitation worker engaged by the MCD through a private company, collecting garbage around 8.15 am on Sunday. “Anil and Gulshan were friends. Nihal had allegedly warned Anil to tell Gulshan to stop talking to his wife, but both continued to speak on the phone,” an senior police official stated.

Police said Nihal, who had consumed excessive alcohol, called Anil towards him and a verbal spat ensued. He allegedly took out a knife, stabbed Anil in the abdomen and fled.

The attack was captured on CCTV. A purported video showed a man in a yellow T-shirt approaching Anil after a brief verbal exchange and allegedly stabbing him. Anil was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, where he was declared dead. Investigators examined over 200 CCTV recordings and tracked Nihal’s movements before arresting him.

The killing triggered protests by sanitation workers and auto-tipper drivers at the hospital. They demanded `1 crore compensation and a permanent government job for a member of Anil’s family.