Two held for killing man they met through gay dating app

Two men were arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing another man they met through a dating app after he resisted being robbed of his mobile phone in southeast Delhi's Sarita Vihar area, police said.

The accused, Sumit (20) and Karthik (24), both residents of Gautampuri, were arrested for allegedly stabbing to death Sanni Dayal (25) in a deserted forest area of Aali Vihar on Saturday night, they said.

The body was spotted by a passerby who then informed the police, an official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) RP Meena said, "During investigation, mobile phone of the deceased was found missing. When contacted, it was found to be switched off. The Call Detail Record (CDR) of the mobile number was collected and its last location was traced to Gautampuri, in Badarpur."

CDR analysis revealed that Dayal was in constant touch with a person through mobile phone and on the basis of the WhatsApp profile picture, the user of the contact was identifed as Arjun Kumar, a resident of Gautampuri. During inquiry, Arjun told police that his phone was used by an acquaintance, Sumit, on Saturday evening, the officer said.

Subsequently, Sumit, also a resident of Gautampuri was arrested and the mobile phone of the deceased was recovered from his possession. Sumit confessed to killing Dayal with the help of Kartik, the officer added.

Sumit told police that he came in contact with Dayal through a dating app for homosexuals. The two accused called Dayal for a meeting and took him on a scooty to the isolated jungle where they robbed him, the DCP said.

They asked Dayal to hand over his mobile to them but when he refused, they robbed him of it on the knife-point and stabbed him before escaping from the spot, he said.

On his instance, Kartik was also arrested from Aali Vihar. One country-made pistol along with a live cartridge and a blood-stained knife was recovered from his home in Gautampuri, he said.

The scooty belonged to an acquaintance of Sumit and it was also recovered, he added.

A case under section 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in connection with the incident, police said.

While no criminal antecedent of Sumit has been found, his associate Karthik was previously involved in four cases including attempt to murder, hurt and those registered under the Arms Act, they said.