Uttarakhand: Man stabs neighbour to death after birthday party invite dispute

A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stabbing his neighbour to death in Uttarakhand’s Selakui following an argument over the neighbour not being invited to the accused’s daughter’s first birthday party, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased, Rajpal, and the accused, Jitendra Kumar, lived as tenants in the same building in Jamanpur, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dehradun Pramendra Dobhal.

The SSP said that both were allegedly under the influence of alcohol on September 21 when an argument broke out between the two over Jitendra not inviting Rajpal to his daughter’s first birthday party. During the altercation, Rajpal allegedly slapped Jitendra, following which the latter stabbed him in the chest with a knife and fled.

The Selakui police station received information through the control room and reached the spot. Rajpal was taken to Subharti Hospital in a 108 ambulance, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Based on a complaint from Rajpal’s family, a case was registered against Jitendra under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which says anyone who commits murder faces the death penalty or imprisonment for life, along with a mandatory fine.

Police teams were formed to trace Jitendra, who was arrested on Tuesday from Mental Hospital Road in Sahaspur. The knife allegedly used in the crime was also recovered at his instance, he said.

During interrogation, Jitendra said that he had an earlier dispute with Rajpal and had therefore not invited him to the birthday celebration.