NEW DELHI: The accused in the murder of a bartender, whose dismembered body was recovered from a refrigerator in south Delhi's Saket, has been arrested by Delhi Police from Odisha.
Badal Mandal, a native of West Bengal, had been on the run since October 10, after he allegedly killed his friend and colleague Vipin Joshi. Mandal then chopped Joshi's body into three pieces and stored it in the refrigerator at his house in Saket's Saidulajab area, and before fled the city.
The body was found by the police on the evening of October 14.
"Mandal has been arrested by our team. He was brought to Delhi on Friday," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chinmoy Biswal told reporters on Saturday.
During interrogation, Mandal revealed that the prime motive behind the murder was to avenge Vipin, who had reportedly developed a relationship with the wife of the accused. Believing that Joshi was having an affair with his wife, Mandal he decided to eliminate Joshi.
Both the accused and the victim lived in the same area and worked as bartenders in the same restaurant in South Delhi. Cops said that Mandal had planned the murder well in advance.
When Joshi disappeared on October 10, his family approached police and lodged a missing complainant. As part of their search for Joshi, cops reached Mandal's house on October 14, but found that he was not at home.
However, they found Joshi's dismembered body inside Mandal's refrigerator. As he was missing, Mandal was became the prime accused in the case.
"We then formed several teams to locate him as he was our prime suspect," Biswal said.
After Delhi Police found him in Odisha, he confessed to his crime. He told police that since he suspected Joshi of having an affair with his wife, he decided to murder him.
On October 10, he called Joshi to come to his place, where the two consumed liquor. After getting Joshi highly intoxicated, Mandal took a meat cleaver and stuck him
Panicked, the accused cut Joshi's body into three pieces and hid it in the refrigerator.