Rinku Sharma murder case transferred to Crime Branch; Delhi Police arrests fifth accused

The Delhi Police on Saturday said that the Rinku Sharma murder case has been transferred to the Crime Branch. In a shocking incident on Wednesday, 25-year-old Rinku was stabbed to death allegedly by a group of men following a quarrel at a birthday party in Mangolapuri area of the national capital. "Mangolpuri murder case transferred to Crime Branch," the police said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police arrested the fifth accused in the killing of Rinku Sharma, police said on Thursday. According to police, the fifth accused has been identified as Tazuddin (29) who worked as a home guard earlier, news agency PTI reported. Tazuddin's arrest comes a day after four other men -- Zahid, Mehtab, Danish and Islam -- were arrested. All of them are related to each other, police said.

An argument over food joints: Delhi Police

The police said both Rinku and the accused men had an argument over their eatery business which had to be shut down after they started incurring losses. They, however, said that these facts are being verified. According to the police, on Wednesday night, when both the victim and accused men were attending the birthday party, an argument broke out between them over their food joints in Rohini. They also slapped and threatened each after which they left. 

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Later, the four men went to Sharma's house where the victim along with his elder brother was already standing outside with sticks. A scuffle broke out between the two sides again during which the accused stabbed Sharma and fled from the spot, a senior police officer said. The victim was then rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, he said.

Saffron outfits including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have claimed that Sharma was killed due to his involvement in the collection of donation for Ram temple construction in Ayodhya. "We urge the administration to arrest the culprits without delay and ensure the strictest punishment to them," said VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta also met the family of Sharma on Friday to provide an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to them and claimed the victim was also associated with collecting contributions for the construction of Ram temple. However, the Delhi Police denied any communal angle to the murder and said the fight at a birthday party took place over a business rivalry. 

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