A 31-year-old fruit seller, Kamlesh Kumar Sharma, was arrested in Jaipur for strangling 88-year-old retired customs officer Omprakash Khobar after stealing his PhonePe PIN and siphoning nearly Rs 3 lakh from his account.
Sharma, who ran a fruit stall outside Lotus Villa Society in Jagatpura, allegedly recorded the victim entering his UPI PIN while buying fruits. Using this information, Sharma transferred money from Khobar’s PhonePe account over time. When Khobar confronted Sharma about unauthorized transactions, Sharma lured him to his flat and strangled him to silence him.
Khobar’s body was found in Flat No. 105 on July 25. Initially believed to be natural death due to age, scratch marks on the neck and a missing phone raised suspicions. A post-mortem confirmed strangulation as the cause of death.
Police recovered transaction alerts and call records showing transfers from Khobar’s PhonePe account to Sharma’s. CCTV footage placed Sharma at the crime scene. Despite the murder, Sharma stayed at the location, mingling with residents to avoid suspicion.
“It was the digital trail that exposed him,” said a police officer. “He thought staying back would mislead investigators.”
Sharma’s interrogation continues, with police investigating whether others helped with the fraud. He was known in the area, running his stall near the society where Khobar lived alone.
