Three suspects held, 1 absconding

Preliminary investigations revealed that Sanjay and Ram Asre disappeared soon after the incident. After gathering clues from various sources, police succeeded in catching them on Wednesday evening.

Sanjay is from Bihar and Ram Asre hails from UP while Raju is from Himachal Pradesh, added police sources. Sanjay was residing in Colony Number 5 while Ram Asre was staying in Sector 8 here.

Investigations further revealed that Mehra 50 was under the influence of liquor on the fateful evening. The accused picked him up from Sector 22 on the pretext of dropping him at the ISBT. But instead of taking him to the bus stand, they took him behind Sector 178217;s Udyog Bhavan where they allegedly strangled him. They dumped his body and decamped with his belongings and cash.

Sources added that the accused targeted men at liquor vends; they would transport their victims to a deserted place and rob them. Police hope to work out a few more cases with these arrests.

Mehra had come here from Delhi to collect payments from shopkeepers to whom he supplied sarees. For nearly 48 hours, his body lay unnoticed in a ditch behind Udyog Bhawan before it was noticed on Monday morning.