3 teens apprehended, police say Unani doctor shot dead to avenge humiliation

The first detention in the case was made late on Thursday, when the alleged shooter, a 17-year-old , was detained by the local police.

Later, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, the second accused, aged 16, who accompanied the shooter to the clinic was also apprehended.

By Friday evening, the third accused — the mastermind aged 17 years — was apprehended by the Crime Branch, the police said. “…he was identified from CCTV footage, his Instagram profile and phone number,” DCP (Crime) Rakesh Pawaria said.

According to officers, the third accused provided the shooter with the countrymade pistol for the murder.

The third accused, police said, allegedly planned the murder after the victim and other staff “humiliated” him for refusing to pay the full bill on September 20, when he had sought treatment at Nima Hospital after an accident. “The accused was treated by Dr Akhtar, and was asked to pay Rs 1,200. The boy refused to do so and paid only Rs 400. He was humiliated by the nurses and Dr Javed for that,” a police official said.

The alleged humiliation did not stop there, the police added. On September 30, the minor revisited the hospital to get his bandages removed. “He was again abused by the staff and was denied service,” said DCP (South East) Rajesh Deo.

Humiliated further, the accused narrated the incident to his two friends — the other accused — and provoked them to kill Dr Akhtar.

Meanwhile, in the intervening night of October 1 and 2, the shooter suffered an injury and visited the hospital with the second accused. “He made a recce at the hospital and returned the next night on the pretext of getting re-dressing done. He went to Dr Akhtar’s cabin and shot him dead,” said a police officer.

“All three accused live in the same colony. Their family members are daily wage labourers,” a police officer aware of the matter said.

The youngest of them all was an accomplice who helped in the recce. The other two are school dropouts, an officer said. “All of them are first- time offenders. One of them, the shooter, flashed the murder weapon on his social media for fame,” he added.

‘Mild-mannered’

Meanwhile, the family and colleagues of Dr Akhtar said he never got into a fight with anyone. “I have never heard or seen him in quarrel with anyone. He was very mild-mannered,” said his wife, herself a Unani practitioner at a Noida-based private hospital.

A father to two daughters, aged nine and 11 years, Dr Akhtar was a Unani practitioner for the past 20 years, and had worked at multiple private hospitals in Delhi. He continued to provide consultations to hospitals in Noida and Delhi, a source said.

Dr Akhlaq, the owner of Nima Hospital, said Dr Akhtar had never shouted at anyone. “He would never shout at a patient for anything, let alone money. Many times, he would let people from nearby jhuggis to pay for the treatment later,” he said.

Dr Akhlaq, who started Nima three years ago, said Akhtar has been working with him for the past two years. “He was one of the funniest people I know,” he said.