A 75-year-old man was found dead Wednesday morning in south Delhi's Freedom Fighter Enclave with a blow to the head, police said. The victim, identified as Satish Bhardwaj, used to live there alone and his two sons reside out of Delhi, they said. Police have arrested two brothers in connection with the robbery-cum-murder, identified as 28-year-old Ravi and 26-year-old Dharmender, who both live in Paryavaran Complex, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chandan Choudhary said that a caller informed the Neb Sarai Police Station around 8.15 am that his neighbor, a senior citizen, was not opening the door of his house. When police reached there, they found Bhardwaj lying in a pool of blood with a head injury, with rooms on the floor ransacked, the DCP said. A case was registered and the probe was initiated, she said.
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In its investigation, police collected evidence from the crime scene and checked CCTV in and around the area for clues of the culprits, police said. The investigation revealed that the accused had entered the house from the backside. It was also found that some persons were engaged in whitewashing the house recently. Police analyzed the CCTV of the area, and spotted the two accused in one such footage.
The suspects were identified as Ravi Kumar and Dharmender and they were arrested in a raid, Joint Commissioner of Police (southern range) Meenu Choudhary said. The accused during questioning revealed that they killed Bhardwaj hitting him on the head with a hammer and a plier. One silver kada, one small silver 'khadau', which was kept in a small temple in the house, coins, and two hammers/cutters (weapon of offense) were recovered from their possession, police said. They also found an auto rickshaw in their possession, which too was seized.
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Ravi who was working at the house of the victim had been conspiring to hit the house since February 10 and broke into it Wednesday early morning, between 1 am and 2 am, police said. The victim was a registered 'senior' of the Delhi Police. The beat staff was in touch with him, they said. Delhi Police Saturday launched a mobile application for senior citizens to help them reach out to the police quickly in emergency situations.
