Financier slain over soaring debt, body dumped in drain

New Delhi: On the evening of Feb 19, Ajay Kumar, a 50-year-old financier known as much for his polythene bag business as for the high-interest loans he offered, pulled his motorcycle to a halt outside a restaurant in Prem Nagar to meet two of his clients. Little did he kn-ow he was walking into a tr-ap of premeditated, cold-blooded murder.Brothers Sonu and Mehboob Ali, aged 24 and 20, had become ensnared in a financial trap of their own making, borrowing Rs 4 lakh to boost their restaurant business. The debt with the 10% monthly interest, however, kept piling up. Unable to repay the loan, the siblings, two days before their next meeting with the creditor, allegedly plotted to kill him.When Ajay arrived at the restaurant to recover the latest instalment, he expected the usual pleas for more time. As the financier reminded the brothers about punctual payments, the brothers took him to their house nearby.There, Mehboob moved swiftly, allegedly slitting his throat with a heavy, razor-sharp meat cleaver -- a tool borrowed from the daily grind of their hotel business. The brothers then allegedly stuffed his body into a gunny sack. Later, around midnight, they dumped it into Najafgarh drain near Chandan Vihar, said police.Following his disappearance, Ajay's brother reported him missing at Aman Vihar police station. Inspector Vijay Samaria's team began peeling the layers of the financier's final hours. It was only after four days that the breakthrough came."Technical surveillance and human intelligence flagged a suspicious figure with a covered face parking Ajay's motorcycle in an abandoned corner of Prem Nagar," said Ravindra Yadav, special CP (law and order).Sonu and Mehboob were arrested and confessed during interrogation, said cops. "The brothers led the police team to the edge of Najafgarh drain. The crime and forensics team also inspected the spot. The sack was eventually pulled out," Rajiv Ranjan, additional CP (Rohini district) said, adding Ajay's body was sent to SGM Hospital for a post-mortem.