2 ‘friends’ held for killing businessman

New Delhi: A 35-year-old businessman died allegedly after being hit with an iron rod, stabbed and then run over by his two friends, one of whom had borrowed money from him and was unable to repay, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Pawan Bathla, they added. The incident took place on Tuesday in North Delhi's Timarpur area. One of the accused was unable to pay the loan he had taken from the victim and hatched the conspiracy to kill him, the police said.

The two men called the victim to an isolated location on the pretext of paying him interest on the loan of Rs 2.35 lakh. Then, the two men allegedly hit him with an iron rod, stabbed him, and ran over him using his vehicle, a senior police officer said.

A passerby, who saw a man being run over by a vehicle, informed the police about it around 9.30 pm on Tuesday, the officer said. The victim was found lying on a secluded stretch near Gandhi Vihar in Timarpur. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, the officer added.

The two accused, Nitin and Mannu Wadhwa, were arrested on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Nupur Prasad said. During interrogation, Nitin revealed that he was not able to repay loan he had taken from Pawan Bathla, so he, along with Wadhwa, hatched the conspiracy to kill him. A case has registered, the police said.