NEW DELHI: It was an almost decade-long vendetta that led to the murder of 56-year-old property dealer Lakhpat Singh Kataria in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, police said on Sunday. A father-son duo has been nabbed for the crime after a 48-hour manhunt aided by CCTV analysis, technical surveillance and human intelligence, cops said.The man arrested for Kataria’s murder has criminal antecedents, special commissioner (law and order) Ravindra Yadav said. He had filed an FIR against Kataria in 2016 following a brawl that he claimed left him bedridden for nine months. The son was just nine at the time. They nurtured the grudge for nine long years and finally attacked Kataria last week.The suspect, 47, roped in his 17-year-old son for the murder, deliberately timing the act a day before the boy’s 18th birthday so that he could benefit from juvenile laws.On the day of incident, the father-son duo first attacked the victim with a cricket bat and fired multiple shots at him inside Vijay Mandal Park, Malviya Nagar. Singh was declared brought dead at AIIMS.Minor tracked target’s movement for 15 days At the crime scene, cops found bloodstains scattered across the park, along with a broken cricket bat handle and the bat itself. A case under Sections 103 (murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS)and Sections 25/27 of the Arms Act was registered at Malviya Nagar police station. Deputy commissioner of police (South) Ankit Chauhan said, “Around 650 CCTV cameras across a 55km stretch were scrutinised to track the movements of the assailants, who had arrived on a black Hero Splendor with no number plate.”The accused waited outside the park and chased the victim inside, where they murdered him. After the incident, they escaped towards Outer Delhi using multiple routes.The CCTV analysis, combined with call detail records (CDRs), pointed towards the involvement of a 47-year-old man residing in Auchandi village, Chauhan added. His mobile phone was switched off during the relevant period, further raising suspicion. Police teams then apprehended his minor son, who led them to his father.Police have seized the motorcycle used in the crime. The accused has four FIRs registered at Malviya Nagar police station between 2006 and 2016, involving charges of attempt to murder, assault, criminal intimidation, and extortion.During interrogation, the accused revealed that the motive stemmed from a violent clash in 2016. At the time, Lakhpat Singh and his associates had allegedly assaulted the accused over a property dispute. A case was then registered against Singh and his brother, while a cross-case was filed against the accused and his family.”He has disclosed that he instigated his 17-year-old son to join him in the plan, timing the execution a day before the boy’s 18th birthday to exploit juvenile laws. The accused deputed his son to recce the victim’s morning routine and then arranged a country-made pistol,” DCP Chauhan added. The son had come to stay with a relative in the area about 15 days before the incident and closely tracked the victim’s movements. He noted that Singh regularly went for morning walks in Vijay Mandal Park. On Sept 25, he shared this information with his father, and together they executed the plan next morning. On Sept 26, the duo, with faces covered, arrived on a motorcycle without a number plate and executed the murder.
