'Friends' behead Delhi tattoo artist with coconut choppers

New Delhi: A Delhi tattoo artist was beheaded by his three friends with coconut choppers after he refused to return the money he borrowed from them, police said on Tuesday. The headless body of 22-year-old Babloo Kumar was found in the bushes at a vacant plot in Mayur Vihar on Sunday. Officials said that all the accused in the case has been arrested.

The accused have been identified as Prashant Mishra (25), Ankit Sharma (19) and Inderjeet alias Bobby (27), they said.

Babloo's brother Sonu told police that he left home on December 10 and did not return. Initially, Sonu did not suspect anything wrong since his brother used to often stay away for several days without informing anyone, Pankaj Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) said.

However, on Sunday, Sonu told his neighbours about his brother and asked them for help in finding him. They then found his beheaded body with multiple injuries at a vacant plot near their house on Sunday afternoon, he said.

A case was registered and police started investigation. Babloo's friends Bobby, Prashant and Ankit who were last seen with him on December 10, were then interrogated, the officer added. Initially, the trio told police that they met him in the evening and later Babloo left without telling them where he was going, he said.

Meanwhile, police found that one of the accused, Bobby, was nursing an injury caused by a sharp object. Officials found it suspicious as he was unable to explain about his injury. Ultimately, all the accused confessed, he said.

One of the accused, Mishra, who was a stockbroker had lent Babloo some money which he had refused to repay. The other two -- Bobby and Ankit -- also had a fallout with Babloo over money as they were all addicts, he said.

The trio then hatched a plan to kill Babloo by luring him into the abandoned plot on the pretext of a party, he added. Mishra had arranged two coconut choppers. The trio had planned that once Babloo was drunk enough they would kill him using the choppers and leave the body to rot, he said.

They were arrested and their blood stained clothes along with the coconut choppers were also found, he added.