Panipat police have arrested two brothers, Keshav and Rajesh, claiming to have solved the stabbing murder of a 17-year-old ‘gol gappa’ vendor, Ashwani, which occurred last Saturday. Both were produced in court and sent to a two-day police remand.
According to Inspector Virender, Ashwani, a resident of Jagdish Nagar on Kutani Road and originally from Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, was stabbed to death near the drain bridge on Kutani Road. The Quilla police initially registered a case against unknown persons based on a complaint by Nand Kishor, brother-in-law of the deceased.
The case was handed over to the CIA-2 unit under SP Bhupender Singh. Investigators activated their sources and analyzed footage from over 100 CCTV cameras, leading to a tip-off that helped them arrest Keshav and Rajesh near the truck union office in Sector 25.
During preliminary questioning, the brothers confessed to the murder, revealing that a third accomplice, Gaurav from Hanuman Colony, was also involved. The accused stated that they were addicted to drugs and had planned to snatch a mobile phone to fund their habit.
According to Inspector Virender, the trio went to Ashwani’s ‘gol gappa’ cart late Saturday. While Gaurav attempted to steal Ashwani’s mobile phone, the victim resisted, prompting the accused to stab him with knives before fleeing the scene.
The police plan to interrogate the brothers further to recover the weapon and the stolen mobile phone, and to trace the whereabouts of the absconding Gaurav. Both Keshav and Rajesh have prior criminal records; they were recently released on bail after being charged with attacking a power employee, according to Inspector Virender.
