A 38-year-old chartered accountant (CA) was stabbed to death at his office in U-Block of DLF Phase-3 on Thursday night. A woman has confessed to the crime, claiming that the chartered accountant attempted to rape her when she went to his office, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Neeraj Pandey. Neeraj was stabbed in the stomach and hit with a blunt object on the back of the head, police said.

The mystery, however, deepened after Neeraj’s younger brother Nitin Pandey claimed that he saw the accused woman with a childhood friend of Neeraj, Arun Sarkar, at the office before the incident.

Arun lived in Neeraj’s house in S-Block of DLF Phase-3 a few years ago, said police. Arun works in the insurance sector and runs an NGO in Delhi.

A senior police official said investigations are hinting towards an illicit relationship between Neeraj and Arun’s wife. More can be said on the matter once Arun is arrested.

Police said they arrested the accused woman, identified as Priya Thakur, on Thursday night after she informed them about the incident.

Employees at Neeraj’s office told police that Priya used to visit the office. Neeraj’s brother Nitin, however, said he saw the woman for first time on Thursday night.

Nitin told police that he went to Neeraj’s office around 8:30pm and left a few minutes later. He said Arun and a woman came there before he left.

“Around 10 pm, Neeraj’s wife Deva Pandey called him on his mobile phone. The call was not answered. When she called on the landline phone of the office, a policeman answered and informed her about the incident,” said Nitin while waiting outside the mortuary for the postmortem.

Neeraj and Arun know each other since Class 6. They often met at Neeraj’s office, said Nitin.

“Around a fortnight ago, I received a call from Arun. He told me something about Rs 1 crore. He asked me to counsel Neeraj, saying that he would otherwise suffer a huge financial loss,” said Nitin.
Nitin, however, expressed ignorance about the illicit relationship.

Deepening the mystery, police said, Priya told them that Arun was not with her at the time of the incident and was in Kolkata. Police said they called on Arun’s mobile phone but there was no response.

Police spokesperson assistant commissioner of police (crime) Hawa Singh said illicit relation has emerged as the primary reason in the case but further investigation would reveal other details.

Neeraj’s neighbour and shopkeepers near his office, meanwhile, said he was a very quiet person who mostly kept to himself.

“He used to go to office in a car and return home on time. We never heard anything bad about him,” said a neighbour who was consoling Neeraj’s father.

Police said an FIR under IPC section 302 (murder) has been lodged against Priya and Arun. #casansaar (Hindustan Times)